12th July, 2012
The House of Representatives has mandated its Committees on Aviation and Environment to liaise with the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to compel owners of unserviceable aircraft to remove them.
The House equally directed the committee to liaise with the management of FAAN to clean up the airport environment nationwide within three weeks.
The resolution emanated from a motion moved by Rep. Akpan Umoh, (PDP-Akwa Ibom), which was unanimously adopted without debate when put to vote by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Emeka Ihedioha.
It further resolved that if the owners of the unserviceable airplanes failed to comply with the directive, the committees should remove the planes from the airports.
The committees were also directed to pass on the cost of the removal and clean up to the owners of the aircraft.
The committees are expected to report back to the House within four weeks.
Earlier, Rep. Umoh lauded the government’s efforts in rehabilitating major airports in the country.
He, however, expressed worry over the littering of the country’s airports with dilapidated and unserviceable airplanes.
Umoh in a motion entitled ‘’Removal of all the Unserviceable and Scrapped Aircraft from all Nigerian Airports’’, said that unserviceable airplanes were more than 15 at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
The legislator said that other major airports in the country were witnessing the same situation and that if the aircraft were not removed, it would create serious impediments and obstacles at the airports.
He said that the hindrances could lead to delays during critical response in emergency situations.
The lawmaker expressed worry that ”the site of these junk aircraft portrays to an extent, a deficit and an affront on the decency of our people.
‘’ These scrap aircraft also constitute environmental obstacles to lawn-mowing and clean up processes where they are packed, thereby creating abode for some unwelcome fauna within airport premises,’’Umoh said.
The House also resolved to summon the minister of aviation and officials of the Federal Ministry of Aviation to appear before it on the renovation of 11 airports by the ministry.
The summon became necessary to enable the minister to explain the reasons for the ministry’s disregard for constitutional provisions and non-compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
The lawmakers said that non-compliance with the Act amounted to gross misconduct.