FG approves funds for upgrade of safe towers

The managing director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Fola Akinkuotu has announced that the allowances of the aeronautical workers of the agency will be enhanced to reflect the economic situation in the country.

This is just as he revealed that government has provided funds for the upgrade of safe towers in the country even as he promised that NAMA was unrelenting to achieve its goals.

Dropping this hint in his remark at the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) in Abuja, Akinkuotu expressed worries over the death rate recorded among Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) in the last few years in the country saying that the Management was alive to its responsibility in areas of workers welfare.

While stating that a lot had been done by the present management of NAMA, Akinkuotu declared that in a bid to address the issue of shortage of ATCs, that the agency had converted non-technical staff in the system to technical staff while most of the retired ATCs were also engaged after their retirement.

The managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Captain Hamisu Yadudu in his good will message, acknowledged the contributions and the role of ATCs and urged stakeholders to celebrate them.

Yadudu who noted that the hallmark of Aviation was safety, stated that ‘no safety, no aviation industry’ just as he highlighted the need for effective communication and between the cockpit and aircraft.

In his welcome address, the president of NATCA, Abayomi Agoro, said ATCs now heave a sigh of relief, seeing that the aviation industry was gradually coming back on track from the scare of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agoro called on the government to reciprocate the good gestures and sacrifices made by the service providers and safety personnel in the aviation industry as appropriate, by looking into the various challenges in the industry with a view to finding lasting solutions to them.

He reiterated their ‘MAYDAY’ call for the review of the ATC scheme of service as the ATC Scheme of Service was an issue that has lingered for too long which he said will not be a bad idea if the issue was revisited with a view to drawing the attention of the relevant authorities to have it resolved once and for all.

“NATCA Executive Council took it up head-on and we sincerely cannot shy away from admitting that identified solution to the problem required several journey and special interventions. The numerous efforts deployed to the issue almost yielded the required result when a draft was agreed upon by all parties at a final meeting. However, in a twist of situation, some of the agreements were wrongly captured in the document released to NAMA as ATC Scheme of Service. This came to us as a rude shock, and we have reacted to it accordingly in a letter to the Ministry of Aviation and other relevant agencies of government”

Agoro, however, expressed concern over the seemingly stalled NAMA Condition of Service (CoS) stressing that a major stakeholder in NAMA, NATCA drew the attention of the appropriate authorities to vital issues that challenge professionalism and threaten industrial harmony within the Agency in the negotiated draft of the staff Condition of Service (CoS).

“We raised these concerns purely in the interest of justice, equity, and fairness. The roles of every professional in NAMA and the nature of licenses held by them are clearly stated in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation (NCAR) Part 11. We, therefore, urge NAMA management and all the relevant unions to urgently address this issue”

He urged the management of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria to create the enabling environment to iron out the welfare issues raised by NATCA raised with the former rector.

Agoro stressed the need for the improvements on the state of CNS facilities in NAMA and the need to review ATCOs retirement age and length of service.

“Going by the recommendation of a committee set up by NCAA as captured in the communiqué released at the last AGM, NATCA in conjunction with the Directorate has formally requested an upward review of the age validity for ATC license holder from sixty (60) to sixty-five (65) years. This has been granted by the DG and we sincerely thank the Authority for it”.

The theme of the 50th AGM is ‘Air Traffic Management, Safety, and Emerging National Security Challenges’.

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