Group urges Buhari to re-assign Sirika over rot in aviation

Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika has come under criticisms for the manner he has handled the country’s aviation sector.

National secretary of Nigeria Aviation Professionals Association (NAPA), Abdulrasaq Saidu made the disclosure while calling for restructuring of various aviation agencies in the country for effective administration.

Saidu noted that the aviation was drifting alleging that the Ministry seemed to have no clue as to how to give policy direction to a sector in dire need of rescue.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-assign the Minister if he the President wants result in aviation.

The NAPA also alleged that there are lots of compromises by Sirika owing to the contract to build the Katsina airport; a project that was reportedly awarded to him by former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah when he (Sirika) was a member of House of Representatives.

His words, “These allegations are not unfounded allegation because Stella Oduah is there. If its unfounded allegation, why is Sirika directing the management of FAAN to pay him? Has he done the job? So, I don’t think he is competent or he has a moral right to be the Minister of Aviation, judging by his relationship, his achievements, what he has gained in terms of contracts at the Katsina airport.”

“The current minister state Aviation needs to be re-assigned if President Buhari wants a result in the aviation sector”, he added.

Saidu called for serious overhaul of the sector, noting that here are people that have served and reached the age of retirement.

“Either by age of service and they must have replacement. Instead of them to work towards that and employ more hands, train and ensure they catch up with the people about to leave, they didn’t do that.”

On the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), he said he was shocked to hear that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) came to the agency to arrest top officials of over graft.

He disclosed that there has been acrimony in NAMA before the EFCC raid between air traffic controllers, aeronautical engineers and air traffic engineers.

To him, the huge corruption in the sector was one that has adversely affected development and infrastructural development.

He took a swipe at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), regretting that there is no unity in the management operational structure, adding, “What is in that place is dictatorship, one man show and I have investigated and I have find it so.”

“ Let the current DG challenge me on one on one debate if his operational structure is in line with what is on ground as the due process of NCAA. One, there is no training, retraining of professionals that made the NCAA thick especially the inspectorate department in terms of airworthiness, insurance registration among others, have diminished.

“ Unless they reposition NCAA by removing the DG and appoint an experienced person from within the system, we will wake up one day and hear about unusual happenings.”

“When you look at NCAA now, it’s quite different from the NCAA of before under Dr.  Harold Demuren. I have to mention names now – The standard of NCAA has really gone low.”