– Unions in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has commended Capt. Chris Najomo, the Acting Director-General Civil Aviation (ADGCA) for instilling hope and progress in the Nigerian aviation industry, especially the agency since he came onboard last December.
The unions; Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilot and Engineers (NAAPE), stated this over the weekend in an interaction with aviation journalists at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
According to the unions’ leadership, since Najomo assumed office, the authority had witnessed a significant improvement in workers’ welfare, technical achievements and industrial peace.
Comrade Remi Aderinkomi, Chairman, ATSSSAN, NCAA Branch, explained that Najomo’s leadership style was characterised by his ability to listen to the concerns of workers and take concrete steps to address them.
Aderinkomi emphasised that his commitment to the welfare of staff was evident in the numerous initiatives he had undertaken to improve workers’ conditions.
He listed some of the notable achievements under Najomo to include prevailing on foreign airlines to reduce ticket fares and support for Air Peace to launch the Lagos-London route, liberalising the registration and issuance of certificates for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and drones.
Others are restarting audit-compliant airlines like Max Air, achieving an excellent result in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) security audit and industrial peace.
He said: “His agenda is in consonance with our aviation minister’s developmental agenda for Nigeria aviation, which has workers welfare as one of the priority areas.
“Capt. Chris Najomo has been working assiduously and is doing a beautiful job of redeeming the whole of our members in NCAA as well as all the workers of aviation.”
Besides, Aderinkomi expressed that Najomo had also fostered a culture of collaboration and understanding between management and workers, leading to increased productivity and efficiency.
“We the workers, we challenge everyone to conduct an assessment on the leadership of Capt. Najomo, anyone can discreetly talk to NCAA workers or to any aviation worker, whether in the public sector or the private sector, so as to gain further insight into the compassionate personality of Captain Najomo that we are talking about here,” he added.
Also, Comrade Diepreye Stephen, Chairman, NAAPE, NCAA Branch, corroborated Aderinkomi, explaining that Najomo and his management team had made remarkable strides in office.
He maintained that Najomo had made it clear that the welfare of staff was his top priority and ensured the payment of arrears owed workers for a long time which has brought joy to the staff.
He restated that workers were happy because of the payment of rent arrears, continuation of the wage award and improvement in the welfare of contract staff.
Others he said were increment of contract staff salary through the implementation of the Conditions of Service (CoS), resolution of promotion issues, backlog of rent and allowance, and continuous payment of wage award Payment of 2024 housing allowance.
“As soon as he came and he said, my staff, your welfare is my welfare as well. He did not end there, our rent arrears have been owed for long, he moved to the minister and got his approval, but as I speak to you right now, he ensured everybody has been paid their rent arrears and this has brought a lot of joy to the staff,” he added.
The NAAPE Chairman, further commended the open-door policy of the current management, which he said had allowed staff to express their concerns and suggestions that led to a significant improvement in the resolution of staff welfare issues.
While expressing their gratitude and appreciation for Najomo’s efforts and achievements, they pledged their support and loyalty to achieving the lofty goals and targets of propelling NCAA as the next biggest player in the world of aviation.
