Aviation Protest: FAAN, NAMA, Others Accuse Minister Of ‘Desperate Plot’ To Cripple Lagos Airport

Aviation workers have accused the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, of plotting to cripple the Murtala International Airport, Lagos as the hub of the aviation sector in the Nigeria.

The allegation which has become part of the reason for a nationwide strike was fueled by the recent decision by Sirika to demolish the offices of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in Lagos.

Barely a year after Sirika was renominated as the aviation minister in 2019, he gave a 45-day ultimatum to relocate the corporate headquarters of the agencies under the ministry from Lagos to Abuja.

He gave the directive in a letter dated 4th May 2020, which was circulated online at the time.

The Aviation unions comprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria; the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals had protested the planned demolition.

But the matter took a different dimension when the minister ordered the demolition of the agencies building at the Murtala Muhammed Airport for the planned aerotropolis project.

The unions have also argued that the aviation master plan only covers the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja.

The demolition moves and non-implementation of the conditions of service signed with the staff of the aviation agencies led to the two-day warning strike which began on Monday April 17, and will run till Tuesday April 18, 2023.

A top member of one of the aviation unions who spoke to THE WHISTLER on condition of anonymity accused the minister of deliberate attempt to whittle down the capacity and influence of Lagos in the aviation industry.

He said, “Almost all airlines in Nigeria have their facilities and headquarters in Lagos. Therefore, carrying out oversight on them is better with the aviation parastatals HQs located in Lagos.

“We became worried why he decided to make this move even when it costs parastatals such as NCAA much more to carry out safety oversight on the airlines. The movement of HQs to Abuja was followed by massive relocation of most of the staff from Lagos to Abuja. The staff in Lagos were not sufficient to continue performing these safety oversights.

“NCAA would send Inspectors from Abuja, spend money on their tickets and duty tour allowances just to bring them to Lagos to perform inspections. This was not ok. The ease of doing business became worse. Yet, the minister was never moved to reconsider his earlier order.

“The Unions told him clearly that in the master plan of Lagos airport, there was never plan to build an aerotropolis. Therefore, we became worried about what his real motive really is considering that the major problems the airlines wanted from the government was to build an MRO (Maintenance Repair and Overhaul).

“Since airlines spend millions of dollars yearly to send their airplanes outside the country for maintenance, if the government would actually build an MRO here in Nigeria, it would drastically reduce the expenses these airlines make on aircraft maintenance, and that would enable them to easily reduce cost of flight ticket.”

He further alleged that the minister is trying to demolish the offices to make it difficult for the next administration to reverse the order.

He said, “Knowing that he (Sirika) has little or no time left in office, and knowing that the next coming government may revert his earlier decision and bring back the aviation parastatals HQs back to Lagos, he decided to demolish the buildings so that the aviation agencies would have no place to return to if the earlier order was reversed.

“This is the only plausible reason for his being so bent on demolishing the buildings. He wants the aviation agencies to remain under the control of the North, and have the HQs located in the northern region.”

Sirika, had at the National Aviation Stakeholders Forum held in Abuja, said that the Lagos office of FAAN and the Nigerian NAMA would be demolished to pave way for the take-off of the aerotropolis project as one of the items on the aviation sector roadmap.

He said, “FAAN/NAMA in Lagos will be demolished and a proper aerotropolis setup with cinema, shopping malls, etc. It sounds ambitious but it will happen before we leave. It involves the development of Nigeria’s major commercial airports and surrounding communities into efficient, profitable and self-sustaining commercial hubs through increased private sector participation and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will create jobs and grow the local industry.

“The project will be structured as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement where the private partner will be required to design, develop, finance and maintain the Aerotropolis during the agreed period. The Aerotropolis will contain the full complement of commercial facilities that support airlines and aviation linked businesses. Other components of the project include the development of hospitality and tourism oriented real estate assets; and ancillary support infrastructure.

“It is in the procurement phase. From there, the selection of the preferred partner and we commence negotiation. We will demolish necessary structures to have it. It’ll be one of our major projects before we leave. Same with the national carrier.”