By Chinelo Obogo
Unions in the aviation industry will on Wednesday, September 18, stage a nationwide protest over the 50 per cent deductions from Internally Generated Revenue of the aviation agencies by the federal government.
The unions comprising the National Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Association of Nigeria Aviation Practitioners (ANAP), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and the Air Transports Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSSAN), released a joint statement on Thursday, stating that the protest is to demand the discontinuation of 50 per cent deduction.
The unions led by their leaders, Ocheme Aba (NUATE), Abdul Rasaq Saidu (ANAP), Francis Akinjole (ATSSSAN), Olayinka Abioye NAAPE) and Sikiru Waheed (AUPCTRE), directed their members in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) at the all airports nationwide to join the protest.
The unions said that information available to them indicates that some critical safety activities of agencies like FAAN, NCAA, NAMA, and NiMet are grinding to a halt over lack of funding. They also stated that all efforts on their part to convince the Federal Government to stop the deductions as agencies are cost recovery and not profit-making organisations, have failed. They stressed that the agencies cannot survive on half of their incomes under the model of administration or any other guise whatsoever.
“All workers of the NCAA, FAAN, NAMA, NiMet, NCAT and NSIB, are hereby directed to embark on peaceful protests at all airports nationwide on 18th September 2024 to demand the discontinuation of deduction of 50% from the internally generated revenue of the agencies mentioned above through an exemption.
“All efforts on our part have failed to impress it upon the Federal Government that all the Agencies are cost recovery, and not profit making, organizations. As such they cannot survive on half of their incomes under any model of administration, or any other guise whatsoever. The ultimatum given to the Minister of Aviation on the same issue expired in August, 2024.
“Information available to us indicates that some important safety critical activities of the Agencies are grinding to a halt under the yoke of the deductions. It has, therefore, become incumbent on us as trade unions and workers in aviation to let the public and the government be aware that we shall bear no responsibility in the certain event that the industry becomes dysfunctional as a result of financial incapacity due to the deductions at source. All branches nationwide are to fully mobilise and ensure full compliance and success of the peaceful protests. Further actions shall be decided and communicated in the events of the protest failing to achieve a desired result,” the unions said.
