• Foreign pilots highlight Africa's air safety record
NOT satisfied with what many described as lopsidedness in the recent appointments in the aviation sector, the National Assembly will today hold a public hearing in Abuja.
The public hearing, which is at the instance of Committees on Aviation of the two Houses is to allow those who are aggrieved on the development to submit their positions with facts.
The Guardian learnt that various stakeholders in the sector particularly the aviation unions met to put their position together on the issue, which will be presented before the public hearing.
According to one of the union members, the public hearing is to enable the lawmakers to look into the allegations of unfairness to Nigeria's federal character levelled against the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi.
One of the union members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the National Assembly at the end of the findings was expected to come up with a white paper to the Presidency.
According to him, if government failed to effect the recommendations identified by the lawmakers that the aviation unions would use it to fight for the rights of those whose rights were trampled upon the course of the controversial employment.
Some of the workers from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) who attributed 'ethnic cleansing' to their sacks, last week Wednesday appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics.
The unions had earlier accused the minister of flouting civil service rules and the federal character policy by bringing people from outside the sector and people allegedly said to be working for her thriving oil and gas company to take over the positions of qualified personnel in the various aviation agencies.
The minister was also accused of conducting employment into the organisations without advertising such positions or making those employed to undergo the required interview.
The minister had defended the various appointments, insisting that she followed due process in carrying out the employments.
Reacting, the minister through her spokesman, Joe Obi said that the lawmakers were carrying out their oversight functions, just as he described his boss as a detribalised person who never thought of a particular tribe before carrying out such employment.
Meanwhile, aircraft pilots operating for foreign, particularly European and American airlines have highlighted the poor safety of Africa's airspace occasioned by poor navigational equipment.
They noted that bad navigational facilities among others posed a lot of challenges to the seamless aircraft operation in the continent despite the low passenger traffic recorded compared to Europe with huge traffic and top-notch navigation communication facilities.
Before the remark, there had been calls by stakeholders in the continent, many parts of the world including Nigeria for a declaration of emergency over the region's parlous communication facilities as a foil against further air disasters.
Speaking to The Guardian in London at a tour of British Airways' multi billion pounds aircraft maintenance hangar in Cardiff, Wales and simulators training facility in London at the weekend, British Airways' Senior First Flight Officer, Martin Hockfield said that aircraft operations in Africa faced a lot of challenges.
The aircraft pilot attributed the challenges to the vastness of the continent which has huge land mass occasioned with huge display of obsolete equipment.
He stated that despite the challenges, airlines could still operate safely, adding that communication equipment between the captain and the air traffic control needed to be efficient at all times.
Black spots in the Nigeria's airspace, which make pilot-to-air traffic controller communication very difficult during flight operations had further raised safety questions, just as stakeholders called on the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Government to speedily come to the rescue of passengers, crew and equipment by providing basic aviation safety tools.
The President of National Air Traffic Controller Association (NATCA), Victor Eyaru, had explained that the communication problem with the radio had existed for three decades, adding that the situation had overwhelmed the agency overtime.
Apart from South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia and Kenya which are major hubs for big carriers like South African Airways, Egypt Air, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airways, most parts of Africa still lack resources to finance aviation, thereby resorting to obsolete infrastructure that are said to be unreliable in air traffic management.
The Guardian
We all know that assembly is filled with notorious criminals. The news is not shocking to me in any way.May God save them