Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has assured unions in the aviation sector that the Federal Government would be transparent in its concession process.
Keyamo said union representatives would be involved in discussions surrounding the concession of airports, promising to instruct his Special Assistant on Public-Private Partnerships to keep union leaders informed about the plans.
He gave the assurance during the Aviation Stakeholders’ Forum held in Lagos over the weekend.
The minister said: “We will carry the unions along in the concession process. Their input is vital to ensuring that the interests of workers are protected.”
On Tuesday, unions in the air transport sector faulted what they described as “draft agreement paraded for the concession of some airports in the country,” saying their input was not sought.
The unions, which were the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, ANAP, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, and the National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, stated this at a congress held at the FAAN Freedom Square.
President of NUATE, Ben Nnabue, voiced concerns about how the federal government was going about the concession, stating that the methods were unknown to them.
Nnabue said even though the Minister had promised transparency, the unions were surprised to see a different development.
He said: “Posterity will not forgive them if they go to represent the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and sell FAAN out without calling stakeholders. There is no information that is hidden forever. They didn’t discuss with us and they are writing issues affecting our members.”
Meanwhile, the National President of ATSSSAN, John Ogbe, who spoke at the congress, said no worker was afraid of concession.
He, however, said if the airports would be concessioned, it shouldn’t be “through the back door. It should be transparent and inclusive because aviation workers are critical stakeholders and must be carried along.”
