Showdown looms in FAAN as workers reject lopsided postings

Personnel in the operations department under Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) directorate of airport operations may soon confront management over irregular postings to airports across the country.

The postings, they allege, ignore seniority and have created widespread discontent.

Most of the postings, investigations revealed, are lopsided and unreasonable.

In some airports across the country, Assistant General Managers (AGMs) are placed above Deputy General Managers (DGMs), thereby forcing the senior staff to take directives from their subordinates — an act seen as victimisation.

The situation has been described as taboo and unhealthy, capable of derailing the civil service and killing the morale of personnel.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that those mostly affected by these irregular postings are in Kaduna, Ibadan, Maiduguri, and Abuja airports.

At the Samuel Ladoke Akintola International Airport, Ibadan, Afuwape Gbenga Oladipupo, an Assistant General Manager, is placed above the Head of Operations, Oyebanji Anthonia Omozele, a Deputy General Manager.

At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the Head of Operations, Oloyede Oyenekan Olaoluwa (Level 15), an Assistant General Manager, is heading five Deputy General Managers.

The DGMs are: Adinlewa Lenmwa (DGM, OPS), Emoruwa Doris Sade (DGM, OPS Abuja), Mba-Chidokwe Kate Ngozi (DGM, OPS Abuja), Isyaka Rasheedat Suleh (DGM, OPS Abuja), and Nuhu Nanloh Peter (DGM, OPS Abuja).

In Kaduna, the Airport Manager is a Level 15 officer, AGM Aliyu Garba Mohammed, while there are two Level 16 senior officers, Hussaini Maryam Armiyau (DGM, OPS) and Abdullahi Jibril (DGM, OPS).

At Maiduguri Airport, the Regional Manager, Bello Ibrahim (Safety), is also an AGM on Level 15.\

Investigations further revealed that several DGMs in various stations across the country are suffering the same fate.

Some of the affected officers have written petitions to the Managing Director of FAAN, calling for justice and equity in the interest of the industry.

They also urged the management of FAAN to embark on a staff audit to avoid further victimisation by those occupying these positions.

A source said it was a ploy to ensure that some people in the system do not attain certain positions.

All fingers are pointed at the General Manager of Operations for these anomalies in postings, as the department drafts and sends names to its director for onward transmission to the Managing Director for final approval before Human Resources issues letters to the affected staff.

Reacting to the development, a top labour leader in the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), who did not want his name in print, condemned the trend and said the union would fight for those involved in this victimisation, stressing that ANAP was formed for all cadres of workers to protect them from unfair treatment.

The Director of Public Affairs, FAAN, Mr. Henry Agbebire, described the reports as strange, queried the possibility of such actions, and promised to liaise with the Human Resources Department when contacted by our correspondent.

Reacting separately, the Director of Airport Operations, Capt. Abdullahi Mahmood, said the Airport Manager in Maiduguri had just retired last week and was told to hand over to the most senior person in operations at the airport to act, pending the appointment of a substantive manager.

Mahmood said the organisation was trying to correct the wrongs of the past by ensuring that operations personnel man airports, as they are trained in airport management.

He noted that those claimed to be working under the AGMs are not from the operations department but other departments such as Aviation Security or Fire.

He added that a DGM outside airport operations would not be given the responsibility to head the airport if there was an AGM (Operations) at the station.