Again, Airport Workers Kick against Concession

Chinedu Eze
Despite the determination of the federal government to concession Nigeria’s major airports as a way to find alternative source of funding for them, workers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), industry unions yesterday kicked against the process of the planned concession of four airports.

Participants at a three-day sensitisation programme on Public Private Participation (PPP) between officials of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and workers of the agency put together by the management of FAAN said the planned concession agreement as proposed by the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, did not follow the due process.

THISDAY gathered that the workers, who attended the meeting which started last Monday and expected to end today, noted that the model adopted by the government for the concession was not transparent enough and also alleged that the key people who should drive the process were exempted from the exercise.

Director of Commercial and Business Development, Mr. Sadiku Rafiundadi, and the Director of Finance and Accounts, Mrs. Nike Aboderin, were said to be absent from the meeting on Monday and yesterday, but Head of Human Resources and Welfare were represented.

Leaders of the aviation unions-the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Union of Pensioners (NUP) and National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) attended the meeting.

Some of the union members were said to have queried their non-involvement in the hiring of Transaction Advisers (TA) and the exact areas to be concessioned by the government in the exercise.

The unions also asked questions on the blueprint of the proposed concession and wanted to know why the government did not exploit other favourable types of concessioning that would create more jobs and boost internally generated revenue for FAAN.