Key Highlights
- Unions in the Nigerian aviation industry are protesting against the planned demolition of some aviation agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos by the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.
- The unions are against the planned demolition of the agency’s annex office in Lagos, but they want the government to ensure the payment of the staff’s relocation allowance and other benefits that are accrued to the workers.
- The unions alleged that some people in government may want to convert the public assets to their private properties and challenged their members to be wary of the activities of some unscrupulous elements in the system.
For the umpteenth time, unions in the Nigerian aviation industry have kicked against the planned demolition of some aviation agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos by the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.
The unions in the company of their members drawn from other aviation agencies, at the Freedom Square of FAAN today, described the planned action of the minister as wicked and unwarranted.
The unions, however, said that they were not against the planned demolition of the agency’s annex office in Lagos, but said the government must ensure the payment of the staff’s relocation allowance and other benefits that are accrued to the workers.
The unions also alleged that some people in government may want to convert the public assets to their private properties and challenged their members to be wary of the activities of some unscrupulous elements in the system.
Speaking during the union congress, the General Secretary of the Air Transport Staff Senior Services of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Comrade Frances Akinjole, wondered why the minister was bent on demolishing the structures, barely two months to the exit of this administration.
According to Akinjole, almost three years after the first batch of some workers in some of the agencies were relocated to Abuja, their relocation allowances were yet to be paid, adding that most of the agencies, including FAAN, had no office complexes in Abuja.
He also mentioned that the headquarters of the former Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), now Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), which was demolished for the expansion of the new international terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos terminal, the space was still empty a year after, while its staff was yet to be relocated fully because of lack of space in Abuja.
He declared that the unions in collaboration with their members nationwide would vigorously reject any attempt to demolish the buildings and the relocation of the workers in contravention of the Labour Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He said: “We all know the challenges the staff of the other agencies that were relocated to Abuja is facing. For instance, the staff of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) that are in Abuja doesn’t have offices of their own, while those in AIB (NSIB) were told to be working from home here in Lagos. FAAN does not have its own office in Abuja, yet they want to push everyone to where there is no accommodation for staff.
“We are not against the plan of the Federal Government to relocate these staff, but you don’t make a mess of those you are relocating. Again, why is the government in a haste to demolish the buildings at this time? How much time do they have left to do this in a wishy-washy manner?”
Also speaking at the venue, Mrs. Safiya Araga of the Nigerian Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), accused the minister of maltreating the aviation workers.
Araga purported that despite the “gigantic policies” the government had for the industry, none was achieved in the past eight years.
Like Akinjole, Araga insisted that there must be adequate provisions for the workers before they are relocated outside their present offices.
She, however, called on the incoming government to take a serious look at the activities of the present government when it comes to onboard, stressing that the sector had been stagnant for almost a decade.
“We had gigantic policies that never came to fruition in the last eight years. The NAMA case is a terrible one. To date, NAMA uses a rented apartment in Abuja. For the past eight years, we have not been encouraged by this government. What does the Labour Act say about relocation? The workers need to wake up and defend their work life and their families. We should all be on standby. A people united can never be defeated,” she said.
Also, the General Secretary of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrazaq Saidu, described the action of the minister in the past eight years as illegal.
According to him, the failure of the minister to constitute the Board of Directors in the various agencies contravened the Acts setting up the agencies and the directive of the presidency.
He declared that the unions would challenge the attempt of the minister in a court of law.