The president of Aviation Roundtable Safety Initiative (ART), Elder Gabriel Olowo has urged the federal government to scrap the office of Minister in Aviation, saying the industry would perform better as a unit under the Ministry of Transportation.
He said whether senior or junior cabinet member, the aviation industry does not require a Minister.
Olowo spoke on Thursday morning in his opening remarks at the second quarter Business Breakfast Meeting organized by Aviation Roundtable, a group of industry think-tanks.
The theme of the session is “Safety Challenges in Air Navigation and Air Traffic Service Delivery in Nigeria”.
According to him, having a separate aviation ministry or minister is a burden on the agencies.
The agencies in aviation are the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) which is the overall regulatory authority, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), among others.
Daily Trust reports that Aviation previously had senior ministers before the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari collapsed the ministry into the Ministry of Transportation with the section headed by a Minister of State.
The immediate-past Minister of State was Senator Hadi Sirika.
But Olowo insisted the aviation industry doesn’t require appointing any Minister, saying without a Minister, the heads of the agencies would be empowered to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.
“Aviation Ministry is a clog in the wheel of progress,” he declared, adding, “We want aviation like it is done in other countries as a department under the Ministry of Transportation.
Olowo said the aviation industry has suffered from lack of plans in the past, saying there is the challenge of planning into the future.
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