It was a show of shame today at the headquarters of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos as some members of the House Committee on Aviation openly canvassed for their inclusion in the training of the agency’s staff.
The committee, led by its Chairman, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, had visited the agency and some other parastatals in the industry as part of their oversight functions, but during discussions with the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, a member of the committee said that it would be necessary for the agency to also include them in the training of its personnel, which it carries out abroad regularly.
A member of the committee, Garba Mohammed Gololo from Bauchi made the appeal to Usman on behalf of other committee members, suggesting that their inclusion would enable them to know the nitty-gritty of the industry. Gololo was one of the house of reps members accusing of soliciting for sex during a visit to the US.
Immediately he dropped the microphone, a colleague of his in the committee, Victor Nwokolo, provided support, saying that at least two members of the committee should be selected in the first phase of the training.
At the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ms. Onyejeocha also implored the management of the agency to incorporate some of its members in training in order to further improve their knowledge of the industry.
She said, “I think it is necessary for some of the committee’s members to be part of the NAMA’s training so that we can get the terminologies in the industry. There are some things you are saying now that we can’t understand.”
Meanwhile, the Director-General of NCAA, Usman has called on the Federal Government to grant aviation a priority in terms of sourcing foreign exchange.
He explained that one of the major challenges facing the industry was the issue of foreign exchange and non-availability of aviation fuel.
Usman recalled that the scarcity of the product had made some of the airlines, including foreign carriers, to move to Ghana to purchase fuel while some of them have pull out of Nigeria completely.
“Aviation industry should be given priority by the government,” he said. “This is very important to us to continue to maintain safety in the sector. The major thing is safety and we will continue to maintain safety in the system.”
Usman also disclosed that the Federal Government through the Central Bank, has released to the foreign carriers 50 per cent of their funds trapped in the country and assured that the issue will be resolved very soon.
