20th April, 2023
By Naomi Sharang
The National Assembly Joint Committee on Aviation on Wednesday directed the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika to halt planned demolition of the offices of aviation agencies in Lagos.
The directive is contained in a letter to the minister and signed by Clerk, Senate Committee on Aviation, Mrs Franca Mbah and her House of Representatives counterpart, Mr Bassey Edem.
They stated that the directive was the fallout of the two-day warning strike embarked upon by aviation workers’ unions.
The joint committee stated that it was working to ensure amicable resolution of the issues in contention.
It requested the minister to halt the planned demolition of the aviation agencies headquarters and offices in Lagos pending the outcome of the committee’s intervention.
The committee stated that it was deeply worried by the rampant cases of strikes by workers in the aviation industry with attendant disruption of flight operations, citizens’ movements, economic paralysis and grave security implications.
“The strikes have become too many and too frequent to be let low even though the issues in contention are not new.
“Some have lingered for over eight years with several agreements signed between the unions and the government.
“These include non-implementation of the consequential adjustment to the national minimum wage by some of the agencies as agreed as at February 2022.
“They also include non-release of reviewed Conditions of Service by relevant government agencies for upward of a decade.
“Another issue is continuous threats of demolition of aviation agencies: (FAAN, NCAA and NAMA) headquarters in Lagos without making reasonable provisions for befitting regional offices in Lagos being the nation’s aviation hub,’’ the letter read.
The committee requested the minister to furnish it with comprehensive details on all issues under contention.
It also requested to be informed of actions taken by the ministry and its agencies to address the grievances of aviation staff and their unions. (NAN)