Expert sets agenda for FG

The President Muhammadu Buhari led government yesterday received the constitutional backings from Nigerians to begin its second chance of running the affairs of the country with many making their requests known to the government especially as they affect aviation sector.

Group Captain John Ojikutu, a one-time Military Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International airport and now the managing director, Centurion Security Services, has welcomed the return of the government but called for an immediate plan for the concession of the Nigerian airports.

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While suggesting that the airports concession should start with the Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikwe International airport, Abuja, he wants each of the two international airports to be concessioned with four other lesser airports.

According to Ojikutu, only the non aeronautical facilities and infrastructures should go into the concessions just as he called for the aeronautical facilities and infrastructure to be added into those of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and thereafter put the agency for commercialisation.

Speaking on the controversial plan to establish a national carrier, the security expert described the idea of a national carrier and not a government airline as a necessity which he said government must not have a controlling share more than 10% in.

Equally, foreign technical investors should not own more than 40 per cent while Nigerian investors and the Nigerian public should have 25 per cent shares respectively.

“It would be a waste of public funds to set up a government airline like the former Nigeria Airways not a national carrier. A national carrier which you and I will own about 30 per cent, nurtured by foreign technical partners with about 40 per cent shares, Nigerian credible investors 20 per cent, federal and state governments 10 per cent; this is a national carrier. When the foreign technical partners decide to divest their shares it should be shared between the public, government and credible Nigerian investors”, Ojikutu added.