Piloting Nigerian aviation to new heights

Minister of State, Aviation, Sen Hadi Sirika recently landed in Lagos from a trip and immediately moved to settle a trade dispute between Aero Contractors and its workers. He was not done yet, after leaving Aero head office, he had to make a whistle stop over, to inspect the new, state-of-the state airport terminal at […]

Minister of State, Aviation, Sen Hadi Sirika recently landed in Lagos from a trip and immediately moved to settle a trade dispute between Aero Contractors and its workers.
He was not done yet, after leaving Aero head office, he had to make a whistle stop over, to inspect the new, state-of-the state airport terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport ,Ikeja, that is almost completed by the Chinese construction giant, CECC.
Then, back in his office in Abuja, he addressed a press conference on the topical issue of concession and Public Private Partnership, PPP Policy of  the Buhari administration and inaugurated two key committees  that would pilot the policy implementation from take-off to ensure a safe landing.
At Aero Contractors airline which is under receivership, Sirika had assured the protesting workers that the Federal government would make sure that it addressed the problems confronting the airline. He said that it was the responsibility of government to create jobs therefore, the federal government would not allow any business concern to die under its watch.
Sirika who is a professional pilot and aviation expert, is so passionate about the growth of the Nigerian Aviation industry. He understands first hand most of the challenges facing the industry having been involved with the industry in the past two decades both at a professional level and as a lawmaker in the National assembly where he served in the Aviation Committee in the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Aviation for some years.
By the end of the year, five new state of the art international airport terminals at MMIA, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu are expected to be delivered to the Federal Government by CECC.
He fulfilled his promise to the aggrieved workers who agreed to sheathed their swords when he returned three days later to engage the Management of Aero, Labour Unions, Airline Operators and Fuel Marketers and Aviation Correspondents in a marathon engagement back to back.
The Minister has also addressed some concerns of some stake holders over the airport concession arrangement saying that contrary to the belief of many Nigerians, concession was not the same as privatization and are not synonymous.
He explained that under the concession arrangement, the ownership of the airports and other facilities remain that of the Federal Government, which may not be so with privatization.
He also allayed the fears of one of the labour unions in the aviation industry over fears that the concession would lead to massive job losses in the aviation agencies.
Sirika again met umbrella workers  unions of Aero, FAAN and Tourism practitioners under the auspices of NANTA.
This was preceeded by a major development in the sector where the United Nations (UN) decided to set up two Aviation Security(Avsec) training institutes in the country.
He said:”The Federal government’s vision and efforts towards turning around the aviation sector to meet global standards in infrastructure ,safety and security has continued to receive worldwide acclaim at the highest level, with the United Nations decision to establish two Aviation security training schools in Nigeria.”
Nigerian Aviation is expected to climb to new heights under the leadership of Sen Hadi Sirika as he takes Nigeria to the global scene.

Yakubu Dati is the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN.