Trouble is brewing between officials of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA and its sister agency, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN over electricity supply at the Kano Airport.
FAAN disconnected staff of NAMA including the Members of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association NATCA from electricity supply over
debts owed by their agency to the tune of N500million.
According to the Airport Manager, Alhaji Gambo Aboki, other agencies also affected by the disconnection have since paid up and reconnected.
He emphasized that, if agencies and others refused to pay for electricity consumed, how FAAN will maintain its facilities, adding that, if the airport is cut off from power supply, FAAN will be blamed for not doing the needful.
“How will FAAN discharge its responsibility if other agencies are refusing to pay up for services rendered, we are not father Christmas, we need money to run our operations, we also have an obligation”.
To this end, NATCA members at the Kano airport say they will shut down navigational aids in Kano zone.
A NATCA member under the guise of anonymity said, in the past few days, they have been in total darkness both in their offices and staff
quarters.
“It’s not a threat but we must once and for all forestall FAAN’s intolerance and undignified approach to civil aviation safety standards and recommended practice”.
He further stressed that it was uncalled for and irresponsible.
“How can a sister agency under same governance be acting in a manner as if there’s no other authority or internal mechanism to adjudicate” The anonymous NAMA staff said.
“Now he has disconnected both NAMA facilities and its staffs residing in the quarter. As we speak our people had been kept in perpetual darkness without any justifications. If by Monday nothing is done to restore back the electricity, we will take action”.
