Why workers opposed concession of $500m airport terminals

Unions in the aviation industry have concluded a plan to embark on nationwide protest over the insistence by the Federal Government to concession four major international airports in the country.

Daily Trust reports that from day one, the unions have kicked against the concession of the airports regarded as the most viable of all the 22 airports being managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

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

The four airport terminals have undergone remodelling which was done with the $500m loan secured in 2013 from the China Exim Bank by the last administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the details of the agreement signed with China, the four airport terminals being undertaken by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) are to be completed by March 2015 but as at today only two – Abuja and Port Harcourt have been commissioned.

It was learnt that the $500m loan is one of the reasons the workers are vehement in their opposition to the concession.

A former General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Olayinka Abioye, insisted that the responsibility for the repayment of the loan is on the neck of FAAN.

Daily Trust reports that despite the opposition by the Aviation unions, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, recently received a certificate of no objection from the infrastructure concession regulatory commission (ICRC).

But the unions including NUATE, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) in a statement opposed it, saying the concession programme violates the Act establishing FAAN.

When contacted, spokesperson of the Minister of Aviation, Mr. James Odaudu said, “The unions have been part of the processes up till this stage through consultative meetings and membership of the Project Delivery Teams. I don’t think that the threats are necessary.”

“If as they said, they are not completely against the concession of airports, they should seek better ways of engaging the authorities rather than resorting to strikes and protests. The minister remains accessible to them.”