Minister of Aviation
The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika has failed to inaugurate Board of directors for the various agencies almost six years after the administration came onboard
President Muhammadu Buhari about four years ago, approved the appointment of boards of directors to five out of the six agencies in the sector, but in none of the boards was inaugurated by the minister
Also despite directives from former National Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, about three years ago gave a deadline for the inauguration of the board members, but in spite of the approvals and directives, Sirika did not yield to the call.
The agencies with board of directors yet to be inaugurated in accordance with the Acts that set them up are: Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
However, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) does not have a board of
President, Aviation Round Table (ART) Dr. Gbenga Olowo has said that the failure of the minister to inaugurate the boards for the aviation agencies can cast a thick shadow on transparency, accountability and responsibility in the sector.
Due to the nature of professionalism in the aviation sector, its critical nature together with safety issues, there is the fundamental need for the emplacement of boards of directors for prompt decision-making. Interim boards can fill administrative vacuum, but agencies are not contemplated to run without functional boards for periods exceeding three months.
According to Olowo, “ART is of the view that aviation sector policymakers adopt the international aviation best corporate governance for the promotion of safety.
“Sirika should as a matter of urgency inaugurate boards of directors for the respective agencies in order to avoid continuous breach of rules by the minister.
In his view on the development, General Secretary, Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrazaq said the failure of the minister to inaugurate boards of directors to the agencies indicates disregards to the rule of laws.
He said, “ANAP for instance has written numerous letters to the minister to remind him of this oversight, but he has failed to respond to any of our letters on the issue.
“Aviation workers were suffering because of the several actions of the minister since he came onboard. For instance, training of personnel has been relegated to the background in recent years.”
Comrade Olayinka Abioye the immediate past General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Olayinka Abioye, argued that the failure of Sirika to inaugurate the boards shows that something is actually wrong in the sector. “Since the Acts setting up the agencies stipulate that they should have board of directors; the minister ought to have set them up immediately they were appointed by President Buhari. The minister may have willfully delayed their inauguration in order to continue to have influence on the agencies,” he argued
Abioye added, “The implication is that the minister wants to still control the happenings in the parastatals. You are aware that by the Acts establishing these agencies, they are supposed to report to a board and in the absence of a board, the minister takes charge. So, if the minister has the audacity to set aside the directive of Mr. President, it goes to show that something is definitely wrong with our system.”
“The minister and the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have a limit on what they can approve and spend without recourse to the boards of directors. Some of his activities over the years indicate that he has flagrantly disobeyed the extant rules for the industry,” the former NUATE boss explained.
