Reasons Why Jonathan Government Failed to Deliver National Carrier

Credits~THISDAY NEWSPAPER

.Aviation workers protest assault of colleagues

The plan by the federal government to use Aero Contractors as national
carrier failed because a minority shareholder kicked against it and
the airline was unable to secure a technical partner during a given
period, the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has said.
In 2011, majority stakes of 60 per cent in Aero was owned by Asset
Management of Nigeria (AMCON) while 40 per cent was owned by the Ibru
family as the former bankrolled the airline's huge debts to Ecobank.
Ecobank bought Oceanic Bank that gave out credit facility to the
airline to acquire aircraft, which it was unable to pay, leading to
its acquisition by AMCON.
Chidoka, made this known on Monday when delivered his scorecard to
aviation stakeholders to mark the end of his appointment as minister.
Chidoka said government failed to deliver a national carrier in 2011
because the Aero failed to source for partners as well as the failure
of government and the airline to agree on issues bordering on funding
mechanism and equity holding.
He urged the in-coming administration to look into the Air Marshal
Paul Dike (rtd) 2006 Report on the Aviation Sector on air crashes,
safety and security in the aviation industry, saying the report should
be revisited because it outlined recommendations on the challenges of
the aviation sector.
He said the country desired to float a national carrier but the
airline must meet the template set for its establishment, which
include the fact that the national flag carrier has corporate
governance, adequate fleet size, sizeable operational coverage ,
restructured ownership, route development plan, employee size as well
IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).
He said growth in the aviation industry had been stunted in the past
decades due to the absence of a robust master plan that would form the
architecture development.
Meanwhile, aviation workers under the aegis of the Air Transport
Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the
National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) yesterday staged a
protest at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, calling on the federal
government to remove all Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel at the
airports across the country within 21 days or the aviation industry
will be grounded by the unions.
This is coming one week after an official of FAAN; Mohammed Shuaibu
was beaten unconscious by some Nigerian Air Force officers in charge
of traffic control at the departure section of the international
terminal wing of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The union members assembled at the Freedom Square at FAAN headquarters
before matching to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA)
Lagos on a protest trail.
When contacted, Deputy General Secretary, National Union of Air
Transport Employees (NUATE), Olayinka Abioye, said the unions were
embarking on a peaceful protest to demand the removal of Nigerian Air
Force personnel at the various airports across the country within 21
days, stressing that if the government failed to heed to the demand of
the workers, the aviation industry would be grounded by the aggrieved
unions.
Abioye wondered why Air Force Personnel should be posted to the
airports, noting that it contravened the rules and regulations of
airports operations as laid down by the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO).
"In the first instance, Air Force Personnel mounting road blocks at
our airports are unknown to the International Civil Aviation
Organisation rules. Annex 17 of the ICAO convention stipulates who
should be in charge of aviation and it is the Aviation Security
Personnel (AVSEC), they have a full fleshed functional directorate in
FAAN and they are supposed to be doing these things, they have the
primary responsibility for the maintenance of security at the
airports," Abioye said.

Source~http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/why-jonathan-government-failed-to-deliver-national-carrier/210255/