Why things must be done based on merit in Nigeria’s aviation sector

Last week, Nigeria’s aviation sector was agog with the news of appointments and redeployments of officers of different cadres across the agencies.

The appointments brought an end to the tenure of the erstwhile Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Fola Akinkuotu and heralded the coming of the cool headed and focussed former Director of Operations at the agency, Mr Pwajok Mathew Lawrence, as acting NAMA MD.

The directives issued to the leadership of the different agencies from the office of the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika notifying them of the development, also emphasised the Minister’s approval for the re-appointment and redeployment of Directors and Special Assistants in the office of the Minister and the agencies. At the end of the exercise, 33 officers were affected.

Ordinarily, the latest appointments/redeployments would have come and gone quietly. After all, it was not the first time a sitting minister would conduct a similar exercise, but why the issue is attracting reactions from stakeholders in the sector is not far from the procedures engaged in carrying it out which violated the country’s principle of national unity and civil service rules regarding career progression.

Again, in fairness to the Minister, many of his predecessors had followed this same pattern while appointing or redeploying officers. Unfortunately, this attitude has greatly contributed to the woes rocking the entire sector.

Inasmuch as the Minister has the right to make changes that will help in his mission, such rights should have been made in the spirit of unity, equity and fairness in line with laid down civil service principles.

While the credentials and pedigrees of some of those appointed and redeployed cannot be questioned in view of their experiences in the sector, there are others on the list whose appointments/redeployments flouted the civil service rules guiding career progression in a sensitive sector like aviation.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

• ‘Officials initially offered to help but when the number of able-bodied citizens at the centre increased, they left us unattended to’
• Police, Amotekun after criminals on Lagos-Ibadan expressway
• Suspected cannibal pays N500,000 for boy’s human organs, says ‘that’s my favourite meal, especially the throat’
• Court awards Nnamdi Kanu N1 billion over invasion of his home by military, asks FG to apologise

The Minister, in his latest action, rather than help to shore up activities in the sector has ended up creating more animosity particularly among workers who felt short changed and relegated.

It is on record that there are many workers across the agencies who have remained on the same level for years without any promotion or career progression while external candidates are regularly smuggled into the different agencies with little or no experience. This manner of injustice may be responsible for the low morale among the workers.

The latest exercise would not have generated the debate it is generating if not for the background of the Minister as an aviator who is expected to weigh the consequences any act of injustice will inflict on the system.

To worsen the situation, the directive by the Minister that the officers deployed to his office are to continue to draw their salaries and other entitlements from their agencies of redeployment is another unpopular step taken by someone who knows the extra financial burden this will have on the struggling agencies.

As expected, the officers deployed to the ministry should draw their salaries from the ministry except the Minister is telling Nigerians that his ministry does not have the budget to run it.

Asking these officers deployed to the ministry to take their salaries from the agencies is to further put them in a deeper precarious situation as all the agencies are struggling to pay salaries or execute critical projects in the sector in view of the harsh economic situation worsened by the pandemic.

As an aviator, the Minister must by now realize that his latest action has further heated up the sector and created tension amongst the different interest groups.

All these unpopular policies and politicisation of the sector by the government and its officials are responsible for the ruins of the system.

Aviation sector can only thrive in an atmosphere of equity, fairness and justice where things are done based on merit and not on sentiment.