EXACTLY one week ago, President Bola Tinubu submitted the first batch list of ministerial nominees to the National Assembly for screening and approval, in line with the constitution of the country.
The successful individuals on the list will subsequently be assigned to each of the different ministries and the sectors under them to implement the policies of the government.
The composition of the names on the list has since generated controversy, as many have questioned for lack of credibility and pedigree required to carry out the responsibilities expected of such roles.
While the names on the lists consisted of both technocrats and politicians, it is, however, hoped that the president will exercise caution while assigning the portfolios suitable to each of the successful ministerial nominees.
The need for the president to take precaution while assigning portfolios becomes pertinent in order to avoid putting a square peg in a round hole, thereby creating a chaotic situation.
One of such ministries that require a suitable person is that aviation, in view of its sensitivity and uniqueness as a sector that is answerable to international best practices and standards.
The president should avoid bringing somebody whose agenda may be to play politics at the expense of professionalism.
It is on record that the bane of the sector has been the undue politicisation of its activities. This illegality has continued to reccur each time a politician is at the helms of affairs in the sector. Even the few so-called technocrats appointed at one period or the other proved no better as they got bitten by the political bugs.
The height of the politicisation reared its head in the immediate past administration when the minister of embarked on many frivolous appointments and recruitments across the sector, which many agreed to being tilted towards nepotism.
According to records, many of those employed, who did not have any aviation background training nor the rudiments of the positions they were given, were placed above the core professionals qualified for promotions.
This illegality, which has created animosity and lowered the workers’ morale, should not be allowed to continue in the present dispensation, to avoid unnecessary safety compromise.
Therefore, to save the sector from an already tensed and battered situation, the best gift the sector requires from the present government is to appoint a highly neutral and lesser political enigma to head the Ministry of Aviation and the agencies under it. Doing otherwise at the expense of professionalism may further plunge the sector into a deeper mess.
The entire aviation sector is watching and waiting to see how the present government intends to reset the sector that is gasping for breath.
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