Stakeholders in the aviation sector have set agenda for the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN.
They advised him to focus on reviewing the nation’s bilateral Air service agreements (BASAs) to make them more mutually beneficial.
Former General Secretary of the Aviation Roundtable and Safety Initiative (ASRTI), Group Capt. John Ojikutu, rtd, also advised the Minister against interfering in the regulatory functions of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
He said, “For me Keyamo or any other person does not matter to me as the Minister of Aviation, whoever is appointed as the Director-General of NCAA is what should be of concern to everyone that is a stakeholder in the aviation industry.
“The Minister matters less because he is just to decide and make policies and give guidelines for the achievement of the policies but not to interfere in the operations of any of the operators or in the enforcement of any of the guidelines by the appropriate authority.
“As far as my brain is concerned in the industry, the issue of having an aviator as an Aviation Minister has never yielded any good results especially from the experience of the last one we had. There was a time we had Capt. Briggs from the Nigeria Airways, he did practically nothing and Sirika in the last eight years made everything in the industry to turn upside down.
“What I can only advise Keyamo to do is to come out with the policies of reviewing the BASA agreement which he cannot do alone. He has to do it alongside the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Trade. Secondly, let him ensure the fulfilment of the concession of the airports. The international airport should not go alone, the international airport should be made with the domestic airport.”
The concern of government now should not go into using public money anymore, rather rather for safety and security.
“And lastly but not the least is for him to ensure that the issue of national carrier is kept out of his responsibility. He should focus more on the establishment of a flag carrier, like two or three, one for continental, one for regional and one for intercontinental and those airlines will have to operate on the BASA routes which is a common wealth of this country. They can make partnership with any foreign airline but it should not be a government airline.”
A US-based aircraft maintenance engineer, Femi Adeniji, who spoke in an interview on Radio Nigeria Aviation Runway monitored by our correspondent said, “I’ll suggest he starts from airport rehabilitation. Lagos Airport stinks, the toilets smell, the airport should be the representation of what you are going to see in the country but when you come into Lagos, particularly when it is raining, it leaks everywhere, air-conditioning in the departure is not working and the staff are stressed out, sweating. The last time I passed through Lagos airport, it was a complete disappointment.”
He urged him to see to the improvement of manpower in NCAA by getting competent technical staff.
Capt. Mohammed Gbadamosi urged the Minister to review appointment made in the Ministry.
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