Stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation industry have called for a reversal of some last-minute appointments made by the erstwhile Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.
The stakeholders in an interview with Nairametrics in Lagos said that most of the appointments lacked federal character, while some of the appointees were incompetent to hold positions they were appointed to oversee.
Calls for financial audits and overhaul of agencies
The Director, of Research, Zenith Travels Ltd, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo said that most of the agencies have been bastardized by the former minister.
According to him, the incoming minister of aviation needed to carry out financial audits of the agencies in the sector, stressing that most of them were expanded without justifiable reasons.
He said:
- “We should look beyond removing people or reversing appointments; several of the agencies have been bastardized under the former minister, Sen. Hadi Sirika. He expanded and upgraded the agencies without commensurate revenues to the agencies.
- “A lot of people were brought into the agencies and those appointments were skewed towards just a region of the country and not in line with the Federal Character Commission.
- There is a need for a total overhaul of staff and a financial audit of the agencies, which should be the first assignment of any new minister and there is a need to look into the financial audits of the agencies.
- “Then, from there you can start to look at appointments in the agencies, especially those taken at the last minute and some before then.
- Some were even appointed after the minister had left office, at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), a particular director had to resign due to undue pressure from the minister as some of the staff he was supposed to work with were not qualified. There is a lot to do in the sector by anyone appointed as a minister.”
Mixed reactions and petitions for corrective action
Also, the General Secretary, of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrazaq Saidu, reiterated that some of the appointments needed a total overhaul and were not in line with aviation industry standards.
He regretted that some of the appointments truncated the career growth of the civil servants and needed to be upturned by the new administration.
Saidu, however, said that a few of the appointments, like the new Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Kabir Mohammed were good for the system as he was a career civil servant who grew from the system.
He said:
- “Majority of the directors we have in the agencies today don’t know anything about aviation or the agencies they have been put to supervise. Some of the appointments were made because of political reasons, alignments, geographical area, and others.
- “The former minister brought people who never knew anything and dumped them as the head, directors, General Managers, Deputy General Managers, and others in the agencies. Those must be corrected. There are a few that are there, and they are within the system, particularly the new Managing Director of FAAN and other agencies in the sector.”
Saidu added that the industry unions had petitioned President Bola Tinubu on some of the appointments, hoping that the new administration would take necessary action to correct it.
Recall that Sirika had on May 23, 2023, barely six days before exiting office, made 33 new appointments in different offices and agencies in the agencies.
These appointments have caused mixed feelings among industry players who wondered why the minister should take such a step then.
The appointments were for FAAN, Managing Director, Mr. Kabir Mohammed, Human Resources and Administration; Shehu Mohammed, Commercial and Business Management; Olumuyiwa Femi-Pearse, Corporate Services; Barr. Azubuike Okorie, General Manager (Statistics), Kingsley Okunji and General Manager (Special Duties), Jemilu Abdulrahman.
For the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); Director, Airworthiness Standards; Engr. Gbolahan Abatan, Director, Aerodrome, and Airspace Standards; Engr. Godwin Balang, Director, Operations; Capt. Ibrahim Danbazau, Director, Air Transport Regulations
