DAYS after the 10th National Assembly condemned the concession of the Abuja and Kano Airports by the former government of Muhammadu Buhari with a call for the review of the policy, stakeholders across the aviation sector have supported the lawmakers’ position.
The lawmakers based their call for the reversal of the concession of the two international airports on the lack of due diligence and transparency in the concession
which they argued have the consequences of truncating such an agreement.
Speaking on the controversial airport concessions, the President, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPAN), Dr Alex Nwuba declared that the airports concession and other major projects by Sirika needed total review as canvassed by the Senate.
Nwuba, who expressed doubt if the project was transparently done without the nitty-gritty of known to the public, revealed that during his interactions with some employees of FAAN. the general notion was that the project was badly executed.
Expressing regret over how most officials who represent the country in negotiations carried out such tasks with objectivity and transparency, Nwuba said that rather than insisting on going ahead with the project in the 11th hour, the immediate past government could have suspended it and allowed the new government to continue from where they stopped, which he said could have prevented the last-minute crisis that engulfed the industry.
While expressing fears that the cancellation of the project by the Tinubu government may portray the country in a bad light investors would also be wary of investing in the country.
Nwuba declared “It is unfortunate that we have entered into an agreement; transparent or not and everybody accused the last minister of aviation of lack of transparency. It is the same lack of transparency that resulted into the crisis that followed the attempt to create a national carrier for the country and it was only one person that showed up to bid because others were sure it was not going to be a fair and transparent process.
‘We don’t know what it entails, but these are the things that we need to examine. There is no question about it that we didn’t do the right thing in the country in the plans we made at the very tail end of the last administration.
“We are still talking about PI&D issue as to the breach of contract. If we breach the agreement now, what are the consequences of that breach? So, we must address it. It is not enough to say it is a bad deal, let’s get out of it, we have already made the deal and what deal did we make and how do we get out of it at the minimum cost to the Nigerian economy?
“We can’t be seen as a country that makes agreement and then the next administration comes on to cancel it. They say government is continuum. At what point does one say this new administration will not honour the obligation of the prior administration? Without that kind of continuity as we say in government, we are not good for deals and there is really no deal done in this sector that are good for four years.
“We should be looking at 20 to 50 years projections whatever the case may be. So, somebody cannot enter into a 20 years deal and in four years, it gets truncated. We really need to be more circumspect.”
Also expressing his support for the lawmakers’ call for the review of the Airports concessions, the General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Ocheme Aba said the decision showed that some key people in government were listening to the voice of the Nigerians and assured that the unions would participate in the public hearing on the matter.
Aba, however, said that the review could not be concluded as cancellation yet until the National Assembly comes out with its report, maintaining that the unions believed in concession, but must be transparently done.
Querying the rationale behind the concession exercise and the aspects of the industry that were concessioned by the past administration, Ocheme questioned the FAAN’s share in the concession, maintaining that the investments of the concessionaires were also shrouded in secrecy.
“It is not really a summersault in that even the person that moved the motion stated clearly that he would continue to vote for concession. So, he was particular about the manner in which this concession was carried out and I think that is the concern of everybody, including the unions.
“We have not kicked against concession, but there should be a concession that is beneficial to all the stakeholders, including the workers. It can be done, but it must be beneficial to the country, the industry, FAAN and the workers. That is what we are seeking and examples are bound everywhere in the world.”
The Senate’s resolve to probe the concession of the airports followed a motion by Senator SumailaKawu, representing Kano South who kicked against the concessions of both the Abuja and Kano international airports.
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