Aviation unions have called on President Bola Tinubu to cancel the ongoing concession process of airports across Nigeria, citing a lack of transparency and inclusion in the process.
Speaking on Wednesday at a joint congress held at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) headquarters in Lagos, union leaders described any concession negotiation excluding workers as deceitful.
The National President of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Ben Nnabue, called for a restart of the concession process to allow for open bids by interested organisations in a transparent manner.
“They should start afresh so that Nigerians who want to participate in the ownership of the airport will participate,” he said.
Nnabue demanded the resolution of all labour issues before proceeding with any concession, noting that labour concerns are not being addressed while the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has already announced approval to concession the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.
“We just want the world to know that before any concession can take effect, labour issues must be discussed and handled,” he said.
He described the process as flawed, stating, “The airport belongs to Nigerians. It’s a federal government structure or institution. So you cannot, at midnight, decide on who to give the airport to without declaring it open to all Nigerians. So we are demanding that they cancel the concession process, advertise for the concession globally.”
According to Nnabue, this will ensure that all interested parties can bid for the concession. “We have also requested that cherry-picking the airport is not the best because the revenue picked from one airport is used to better another airport,” he added.
Also addressing the workers, the President General of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Adedayo Alale, condemned the concession and called for its reversal to ensure a more transparent process.
“Let there be advertisements in the papers for at least six months so that anybody who wants to bid will come, sit around the table with the staff, and consider the staff welfare. Our members are not part of the committee. They pushed us aside, and before you know it, they rushed down to the FEC and got their approval,” he said.
