Onyema Commends FG over BASA with US, Others

Stories by Chinedu Eze
The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema has commended the signing of Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) between Nigeria and the United States, India and Rwanda by President Mohammadu Buhari, saying it was yet another testimony of the commitment of this government to the growth of the domestic aviation industry.

Onyema, said this couldn’t have happened at a better time than now that the domestic industry requires all the support to stay afloat.

“It is most commendable and I promise Mr. President that the gains thereof shall be fully harnessed. With this, the President has effectively pushed the ball in the court of domestic airline operators and I want to use this opportunity to call on my colleagues to rally to savour the full benefits of these agreements.

“I thank the Hon. Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika for all the ground work that culminated in the signing of these agreements. His determination to raise the local bar is palpable. I can say for sure that the era of lopsidedness against Nigeria in international aviation is over.

“What Mr. President has done is a call for local operators to build capacity and remain competitive in the global air space. This shall increase job opportunities and ancillary benefits to the domestic economy. I thank you Mr. President for this patriotic masterstroke,” the Air Peace Chairman said.
The federal government on Tuesday announced the ratification of BASA with the United States of America (USA), India, Morocco and Rwanda.

The Minister of Aviation who made this known in his verified twitter handle @Hadisirika and said, “I am glad to announce that Mr President, on behalf of Nigeria, has signed the instruments of ratification of the bilateral air service agreement between Nigeria and USA, India, Morocco as well as Rwanda”, he said.