Aviation Professionals Oppose New Appointments In NAMA, 40% Deductions
Four aviation professional bodies in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) have kicked against the recent appointments made by Sen. Hadi Sirika, the immediate past Minister of Aviation.
The associations, Aeronautical Information Management Association of Nigeria (AIMAN), National Association of Air traffic Engineers (NAAE), National Aeronautical Communications Association of Nigeria (NACAN) and Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA), in a joint statement, warned that the appointments were dangerous to the continued safe airspace.
The statement jointly signed by their Presidents, Ngerem W.G (AIMAN), Engr. Miri S.D (NAAE), Alhaji Rabiu M.S (NACAN) and Mr. Adebayo Agoro for NATCA, observed that the appointments and redeployments done by Sirika in the last minute of the last administration were against the Act that set up NAMA.
Recall that Sirika had created two directorates in the twilight of the administration, Directorates of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection and Directorate of Corporate Services.
The associations claimed that it was necessary to bring to the attention of the new government the action of Sirika, which they said may return to the aviation industry the era of plane crashes as professionals were overlooked in the appointments and redeployments.
The statement said: “We note with chagrin the flagrant neglect of the Act that established NAMA with the creation of needless directorates within the non-core services. Sad to also note that the new directorates created by fiat does not have any meaningful impact in the operations of the agency.
“The unwholesome development of creating needless directorates and units has not only led to the neglect of the core service that needs more directorates, but also, sadly birthed a regime where less qualified people from outside were recruited to take up supervisory positions and to head units created which practically superimposes them on regular staff in a way that has pathetically portrayed qualified professionals as incompetent.
The meeting also hastens to point out that despite the subsisting demand by the National Salary, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to ensure the agency has the financial capacity to implement the negotiated staff conditions of service (COS), the agency is being forced to engage in the indiscriminate employment of staff into non-core service areas of the organisation, which has doubled the wage bill thereby having negative serious effects on statutory core mandates of the agency, human capital development, facilities maintenance/procurement and many others.”
They also expressed the concerns that the negative fallouts of the indiscriminate recruitment if not checked may likely stall the implementation of the negotiated COS.
The professional associations also tasked the new government to carry out a downward review of the 40 percent deduction on the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the agency.
It maintained that the present status quo hampers the progress of NAMA.
Culled from independent.ng
