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FG raises committee to study, implement merger of aviation agencies

By BusinessNews Staff on May 3, 2014

The federal government has set up a committee to study and implement the merger of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agencies (NIMET) which would become Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA).

This is in tune with the recommendation of the Steve Oronsanya committee which was charged with the task of pruning federal government parastatals to reduce bloated workforce and make them more productive.

The committee will also study the merger plan and see whether it is in conflict with the international aviation agreements Nigeria has with international air transport organisations like the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and others.

Government source said that the committee is expected to establish the structure for full implementation of the recommendation and send it to the National Assembly for necessary laws to back the plan.

But since the plan was made public, industry stakeholders have been highly critical of the it. They accused the Federal Government of not consulting widely before issuing a white paper on the merger plan.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) in a statement excoriated the merger plan, saying the decision was totally against ICAO regulation in section 8335.

According to ICAO, “Separation of provision from regulation is consistent with principles of good governance; the regulatory oversight function must be seen as independent and transparent.”

Also speaking in the same vein, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) also berated the proposed merger plan and said it would be detrimental to the aviation industry and may even lead to the country losing its certifications from ICAO and FAA if government insists on going on with the plan.

The Supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr Samuel Ortom who confirmed the setting up of the committee said the Steve Orasanye Committee must have considered all options and consulted widely with the relevant stakeholders in the aviation industry before making the recommendations.

“Government has also looked critically at the proposal and considered it in the interest of the sector to approve the proposal. The merger I believe will improve efficiency and reduce waste and overhead cost in the aviation sector.

“However, the President has set up an implementation committee to see to the merger process. I don’t believe the government would go all out to implement policies that would hurt the aviation industry,” Ortom said.

He said government considers the aviation industry very critical to transforming the economy, so it would not want to jeopardize that with policies that would hurt the industry.

But THISDAY learnt on Wednesday that Senate and House Committees on Aviation are not favourably disposed to the merger plan as they believe that it would have negative implication to the growth of aviation in Nigeria and the country’s relationship with global aviation organisations.

[This Day]

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