Workers seek substantive MD for NAMA

 Despite the appointment of an acting Managing Director to oversee activities at the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) following the arrest of its Managing Director, Ibrahim Abdulsalam and four others over graft by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), workers have complained of near grounding of the agency.

They stated that the absence of substantive managing director for NAMA has brought the activities of the agency to a near standstill.  The workers complained of lack of direction for the organisation.

Some of the workers said the huge graft uncovered by the EFCC, coupled with lack of substantive Managing Director has almost crippled the agency.

They claimed that with an acting managing director, NAMA as a navigational service provider in the aviation industry needed to have a substantive MD to efficiently run activities in order to keep the airspace safer and secured. They lamented that there was a limit to what the Acting MD can do.

They noted that the acting managing director, Emmanuel Anasi could do little or nothing especially in taking key decisions on behalf of the agency.

“There are key decisions which needed to be taking on certain issues, but now he can do little or nothing. The ministry should not hesitate in appointing a substantive managing director in order to rescue NAMA from collapse. The directors can hardly do anything because of the circumstances that brought the acting MD to power” A source told our reporter.

An aviation watcher and publisher of Aviation security magazine, Alhaji Abdulyekeem Umar said there was urgent need to appoint a substantive managing director for NAMA in order to ensure continuity in the system.

Abdulyekeem said there was confusion in the system as the directors lack focus on what to do. They lack coordination. They should appoint another managing director now before it is too late. When somebody is acting, there is a limit to his capability. I am not sure that the other MD is coming back again because I don’t think the Federal government will descend so low to bring them back to the industry”

He advised the government to appoint a professional as the managing director that will do the job effectively and carry every worker along in decision making to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Abdulyekeem urged the federal government to avoid politics in appointing a professional as a substantive boss for NAMA and should be from the system in order to carry on with the programme on ground.