As the nation marks the one year anniversary of the present Administration, Nigerians have been assured of Government’s determination to revamp the aviation sector to make it contribute more to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, the one year anniversary is only a starting point for the Administration, as the period has been used to establish a solid foundation for good governance based on probity, accountability and transparency, elements which were lacking in previous years.
The Federal Government, he said, has during the period, taken steps to ensure that the aviation sector no longer thrives on cosmetic developments, but on solid policy thrusts that would engender a safe, secure, profitable and customer-centred industry.
Government, in its drive to improve the security of the airports and safety of passengers, had within the period, inaugurated a Ministerial Committee on the Assessment of the Security Situation in Nigeria’s Airports whose report has since been received and being examined for implementation.
Government, according to Sirika has also taken steps to enhance the regulatory capacity of the Ministry’s Agencies by setting up a Committee to Examine the Acts setting them up, the report and recommendations of which are also been examined .
The recent Aviation Stakeholders Forum which held in Abuja recently was another step which government has taken to ensure that industry players are given the opportunity to properly ventilate and make inputs into government policies and programmes for the Sector. This is to address the issue of non-inclusiveness hitherto expressed by stakeholders.
Similarly, government has also moved to address the incessant labour crisis bedeviling the aviation industry by engaging all professional unions to examine all contentious issues, and also put them on the same page with policy makers, the most recent of which were the meetings with members of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN) in Abuja.
Sirika has also disclosed that government has followed up on its desire to re-establish a National Carrier by giving conditions for partnership with interested parties and making the process open and transparent.
He said that government was determined to bequeath to the nation a private sector driven national airline that will not only be professionally and profitably managed, but also internationally competitive and service oriented.
He has also used the occasion of the anniversary to appeal to Nigerians to give the Buhari Administration a chance to prove that things can be done differently to make the nation greater than it has ever been.
James Odaudu
Deputy Director, Press and Public Affairs
For : Hon Minister of State, Aviation
