Dark Age In Aviation Industry

Like in Thomas Hobbes’ state of nature, where there are no rights for the weak, only freedom for the strong, the constant breach of concession agreements by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, is threatening to take Nigeria back to the dark ages.

Only weeks ago, FAAN stormed the office of its revenue generating concessionaire, MAEVIS Nigeria Limited, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and forcefully ejected it.

In a commando-like style, about 80 people from FAAN broke into MAEVIS office, held one staff hostage for three hours, ejected the company and then replaced it immediately with SITA, a South African company. The barbaric assault came even as a Nigerian court had directed both parties to head to the arbitration court to settle all contractual differences.

But the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi, who once worked in South Africa, decided to take law into his hands and hand revenue generating business at the country’s airports to a South African company. This is unacceptable as Nigeria is not a banana republic.

MAEVIS’ eviction has led to chaos at the country’s airports with passengers now waiting for hours to board planes because boarding is done manually and staff and passengers become exasperated.

Before this illegal ejection by FAAN, normal profiling of international passengers with the automation process deployed by Maevis in August 2008 at the airport took less than five minutes. Now, thorough security check which in effect has a link to safety is being compromised. Foreign airlines are now manually carrying out Advanced Passengers Profiling, APP, and Advanced Passengers Information, API, a system deployed to detect terrorists and those that are on security watch. This violates stipulations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, on security.

In March 1998, Pan Express Services’ cargo management concession was terminated, barely six months after execution by FAAN. The concession agreement with Pan Express Services was terminated after FAAN realised that the company was generating billions of naira monthly. As at today, FAAN is still owing its concessionaire over N1 billion.

The concession agreement signed between FAAN and Bi-Courtney Air Services Limited, BASL, builders of operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two, MMA2, has come under threats many times and Arik Air, Nigeria’s biggest airline, has refused to relocate to MMA2 contrary to the concession agreement thereby undermining the whole scheme.

FAAN has looked the other way and has even gone ahead to build a new terminal building at the General Aviation Terminal, GAT, contrary to the agreement it signed with Bi-Courtney.

Several other agreements between FAAN and its concessionaires have been terminated or breached in similar circumstances.

We believe that it is dishonest to allow private investors to put down huge sums of money and deploy equipment in the country’s airports, only to terminate or breach the agreements shortly after when the investors are yet to recoup their investments.

The constant breach of contracts by FAAN is driving investors away from Nigeria and is undermining the government’s Public Private Partnership, PPP, scheme.

FAAN argues that the concessions do not benefit Nigeria and the concessionaires have breached the terms of their contracts. But Nigerians are wondering if FAAN officials who signed the agreements on behalf of Nigeria were ghosts. They were government officials who might have compromised for their selfish interests.

Nigeria is not a banana republic so disagreements between FAAN and its concessionaires must be settled in court instead of FAAN resorting to the culture of impunity. To encourage investors, improve service and develop infrastructure in our country’s airports, FAAN should stop breaking its contractual agreements with investors.

Those who want to bring us to the dark ages must be shown the way out.