Aviation unions on Wednesday morning picketed the Abuja office of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over staff welfare and other sundry issues.
The aviation unions also accused Capt. Usman Shaibu Muhtar, the NCAA Director-General, of allegedly compromising safety standard and warned of “potential air crash if the industry isn’t rescued from its current management.”
The NCAA is the regulator of the Nigerian aviation industry.
The unions involved are the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN), the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).
The unions said the poor welfare condition of staff is a big safety risk as staff who are poorly motivated cannot deliver on their jobs effectively which might potentially impact on the industry negatively if standards, especially safety are compromised.
The unions in a procession this morning used their vehicles to block the entrance to the NCAA building in Abuja, thus disrupting all movements into the street leading into the NCAA and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
The exercise barred all NCAA staff from accessing their offices and also forced NiMet staff, including its Director-General, Prof. Sani Mashi, to walk to his office leaving his car behind.
The unions carried several placards with various inscriptions such as: “bring back our autonomy;” “Muhtar carry your wahala go;” “air crash expected with Muhtar as DG;” “release promotion letters to deserving staff immediately;” and “we say no to injustice, no to tyranny and no to Muhtar. We reject Muhtar” among others.
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