•Sirika’s last-minute changes, a threat to aviation sector devt —ART

By Prince Okafor

Barely 48 hours after the sack of the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Capt. Erabiu Yadudu, the federal government yesterday removed from office the head of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Mr Mathew Pwajok.

The gale of the sack of parastatal chiefs drew the ire of the Aviation Safety Roundtable, ART, which condemned the last-minute activities of the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, describing his action as capricious, despicable and unwarranted.

Pwajok was replaced by the Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards, Engr. Tayib Odunowo, whose appointment is yet to be confirmed officially.

The development confirms Vanguard’s report that a similar development that occurred in FAAN, will be effected in NAMA, National Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, and other agencies under the Ministry of Aviation.

NAMA was established to develop airspace infrastructure to meet the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, Standards and Recommended Practices, SARPs.

Meanwhile, fresh indications have emerged that plans are underway to redeploy certain directors to lead agencies in the sector, a development which stakeholders have frowned on.

Pwajok was appointed in an acting capacity in February 2022 and had since exceeded the six months acting stewardship of the agency
Meanwhile, Aviation Safety Roundtable, ART, has condemned the last-minute activities of the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, describing his action as capricious, despicable and unwarranted.

This is coming against the backdrop of the replacement of the former Managing Director, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Rabiu Yadudu, and five other directors by the minister.

The body of Nigerian aviation professionals lamented that the development would further set the sector backwards.
It also frowned on any decision of the minister to appoint a new director-general, managing directors or directors, barely seven days to the end of the present administration.

In a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Olumide Ohunayo, ART noted that for eight solid years, Sirika appropriated the required governance structure under his personal control by neglecting to appoint the statutory governing boards required to ease the functions of the agencies and parastatals under him.

“The ART is of the opinion that this amongst other actions taken by the Minister regressed rather than grown the organizations. The Minister’s direct control resulted in transactional rather than functional operation of the agencies, thereby impeding their progress and his rating.

“The Minister through his micromanagement activities, has further demonstrated the need to scrap the Ministry of Aviation and place the various departments with proper governance structures back in the Ministry of Transport while granting independence to Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority under the appropriate internationally recognized structures for regulating the Nigerian aviation sector to achieve global best practices. ”Nigerian aviation requires strong institutions with solid processes and systems, rather than strongmen.”