National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joseph Ajaero has said workers support the move by the Federal Government to establish a national carrier.

Speaking during a visit to the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) in Lagos, Ajaero said that a national carrier in long overdue but that due process must be followed in establishing it, warning that the country cannot support foreign airlines to the detriment of local operators.

He also assured the unions not to worry over the proposed concession of the five major international airports in the country and the demolition of the office buildings of some agencies, describing it as the idea is a ‘joke of the century’ which is ‘dead on arrival.’ “I don’t think any human can concession here without paying entitlement. Anybody that takes over here as a concessionaire is spending your money for nothing. We have passed through privatisation and so we know how it works and we know the dangers, so they are joking.

“I equally saw the Minister of Aviation talking about illegalising the unions in the aviation and that is the highest joke of the century because he doesn’t have such powers. Don’t listen to anybody that is telling you he wants to take over the aviation industry without following due process and then. You can’t shave somebody’s hair in his absence. You can’t say that you concession here and there. Things must follow due process, which is the way it is, so nobody should panic.”

The NLC President also condemned the failure of the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to inaugurate boards of aviation agencies. According to him, having an interim board is a misnomer.

“The issue of interim board is an illegality. If anybody, is running his office, his wife, his children, his PA as board members, he can’t take over the responsibility of a properly constituted board and until that is done, he can’t even take any major decision including concessioning. So, whatever they might have done is null and void,” he said.

Earlier in his welcome address, Secretary General, ANAP, Abdulrasaq Saidu, listed the challenges they want addressed by the national body to include, the concession of airports, Condition of Service, CoS, planned demolition of agencies buildings, weakening the power of the unions as regards aviation workers penned as essential workers and the absence of Boards of Directors in the past eight years. Saidu revealed that for the past seven years there has been no written approved condition of service for workers even after the review. (Daily Trust)

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