‘Aviation workers may back airport concession’

There are indications that aviation workers are reconsidering their opposition to the planned concession of the four major international airports in the country, Daily Trust reports.

From day one when the federal government commenced moves to concession the airports, the aviation workers through their unions have been vehement in their opposition to the plan.

• PODCAST: How refusal to use pedestrian bridges costs many Nigerian lives
• Corruption leaks: Pressure mounts on Buhari to probe Bagudu, Obi, others

But despite the opposition, the government has gone ahead with the process of advertising bids for the concession of the four airports.

The airports include the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja; Malam Aminu Kano Airport, Kano, and Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State.

Despite the assurances by the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, that there would be no job loss as a result of the concession, the unions remain adamant.

The unions include National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP).

A source told Daily Trust that following the insistence of the Federal Government to continue the process, the labour union is now considering other options.

ATSSSAN President, Comrade Ilitrus Ahmadu, who spoke at the weekend during the third Quadrennial national delegates’ conference held in Ijebu Odu, Ogun State confirmed the position of the workers.

He said it was high time the unions reconsidered their current hardline position on the issue of concession.

Ahmadu recalled that two representatives of the unions have been participating actively in the Project Delivery Team set up by the federal government to deliver on the concession and other projects listed in the aviation development roadmap.

According to him, experiences of labour unions with the privatisation of public enterprises have not been palatable despite their opposition.

“What is the weight, or rather value, of our saying ‘No’ when in fact we very well know that we are dealing with the federal government, the owners of all the federal Government airports in Nigeria. It is trite law, that the owner of an asset which he gave to an agent to manage on his behalf, has the right to deal with the asset the way and manner he pleases.

“What will happen to our workers if we stick to our ‘No’ to concession (without engaging government on the areas of our grievances, just as Nigeria Airways Unions and stakeholders did with its catastrophic consequences) and the government goes ahead to finalize without us addressing the myriads of labour issues in FAAN begging for answers and solutions? What judgment will posterity pass on us as living witnesses to the airways workers’ ordeal, if we fail to do the right thing as unions at the right time?

“I want all of us to sit back and reflect over our current hardline position on this very burning issue so that history does not record us as a people who failed in our respective responsibilities to guide our teaming workers right and chose to lead them on the road to perdition.”

Speaking with our correspondent on the development, an aviation analyst, Mr. Chris Aligbe, applauded the move by the unions.

“If we don’t have world-class airports like other countries, we would be left behind. We are lucky that we have a minister who understands this and is determined to lift Nigeria out of the present quagmire.

“The Minister has said no job will be lost; we believe at this point in time the unions should have no course to doubt him.

“So I congratulate the unions if they are beginning to rethink their position; there’s no need for anyone to oppose airport concession. That’s what I think, once it’s done transparently and in the interest of the country at large,” Aligbe noted.