Stakeholders admonish FG on controversial concessions

Stakeholders across the country’s aviation sector have called on the federal government to immediately resolve the lingering controversies surrounding the various existing concession agreements between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and its concessionaires.

Making this appeal in a communique issued at the end of the recent breakfast meeting organised by the Aviation Round Table Initiative (ARTI) in Lagos, key players at the event unanimously wanted the controversies resolved in the interest of the entire sector taking  cognizance of initial capital invested by the concessionaires.

This is just as the gathering demanded for a culture of corporate governance and transparency in the business of managing the aviation sector while they tasked government and other parties in infrastructure-related commercial agreements in the industry to respect the terms of such agreements if the sector is to move forward.

The communique also emphasised the need for the establishment of an Inter-governmental Agency Stakeholder Group led by the regulator for the  administration and management of Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) funds and for the  implementation of  the country’s aviation development plans.

While preaching against political interference in the sector’s regulatory activities, the gathering declared that there should be an aviation projects implementation stakeholder teams in every airport.

“Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs), Multilateral Air Service Agreements (MASAs) and International Routes are the nation’s infrastructure and  assets, while air traffic rights are like oil blocks and therefore, should not be treated with levity in administration or by unilateral exploitation. Therefore, BASA funds should be used for critical-safety infrastructure development as provided for in the Civil Aviation Act 2006”, the stakeholders declared.