Airports concession: No going back, as FG assures workers of secured jobs

Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has reiterated that the Federal Government would not rescind its decision to concession the four most viable airports in the country for efficiency purpose.

He, however, assured the workers that despite the planned concessioning of Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Abuja airports, none of the existing staff in the agencies especially the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), would lose his job.

The minister stated this, weekend, in Lagos at a closed door meeting with the industry unions.

He further disclosed that apart from the four, other 18 airports across the country would be concessioned in the second phase of the exercise, which would commence immediately after the completion of the first phase.

The unions were represented by the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN and the National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE.

Sirika, at the meeting, also called on the leaderships of the unions to join the concession Project Delivery Committee, which is one of the two committees set up for that purpose, stressing that this would enable them make inputs to better the process.

he described the airports as a disgrace to the country, stressing that for the sector to be out of the woods, the airports must be concessioned.

He insisted that with the concessioning, would class equipment and other facilities would be rendered to the public while there would be improved service delivery.

He assured the unions that concession was not tantamount to privatisation or outright sale and explained that the institutions being concessioned remained the properties of FAAN and Nigeria, positing that more jobs would be generated at the end of the exercise.

Said he, “You see, government has no plans whatsoever to sell national assets, but it was sheer misconception. The truth is that government does not have money to invest and even if they could, with the sheer bureaucracy it could take 10 years and Nigerians are tired of what is on ground and want something new.”

“Let us tell ourselves the truth, the air conditioners are not working, toilets are not working, the same terminal we have in 1979 is still there and government does not have the money to put the infrastructure at these airports, 22 airports with two General Managers at Level 17 each.”

“You get a small shop selling cigarettes and you call it concessioning in Nigeria because the word has been misused, but I think we understood ourselves, we discussed, we brainstormed and this is just the beginning of the process. What is critical is that the Project Delivery Team that we set up for the concession, we’ve thrown it open to them that they can come and participate and partake and we are all in agreement that Nigeria needs better infrastructure, Nigeria dies not have the money, Nigeria used to make $140 to a barrel  of 2.2million barrels a day, that’s is $300million dollars a day.”

President of ATSSSAN, Comrade Benjamin Okewu, who spoke on behalf of the unions, said the unions were not in total agreement with the planned concession of the revenue generating airports, but agreed that concession done in other climes had resulted to increased revenue, building of infrastructure and other developments.