- Photo caption : NATCA, President, Comrade Abayomi Agoro
The President, Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA), Abayomi Agoro, has stated that one of the critical challenges facing the Nigerian Aviation industry is the dearth of requisite technical manpower and inadequate human capital development in the agency.
This just as he berated the government for creating, proliferating and establishing departments that have no direct or incidental bearing to the core mandate of agencies in the aviation sector.
He stated this while presenting a paper at the ATC-Pilot Interactive Forum at NCAA Training Centre , Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
He explained that the dearth of requisite technical manpower and inadequate human capital development in NAMA, adding that the type of manpower being recruited into NAMA are completely at variance with the real needs of the agency as an Air Navigation Service Provider(ANSP)
He added that a holistic evaluation of the staff strength of the agency on a department by department or directorate by directorate basis in line with the core mandate of the agency as well as the standard template accepted by the Civil Air Navigation Service Organisation (CANSO) and industry best practice, needs to be embarked upon without delay.
Another critical challenge according to Agoro is the 50 per cent deduction of Internal Generated Revenue(IGR),adding that as an agency of government, NAMA and the other aviation agencies are continuously handicapped to undertake implementation of critical and time-constrained programmes or projects because of the government policy on the deduction of 50 per cent at source of the IGR of this sector.
He called on the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo as a very key interested party to the survival and achievement of the vision of this administration and the need to uphold and promote Nigeria’s position in the world stage to use his good office to reverse this policy as it affects these safety sensitive and critical sectors, like NAMA and the other sister agencies in the sector.
According to him, “We sincerely believe that with a reversal or exception given to this sector, we will be able to achieve some mileage in addressing some of the financial burdens of the sector”.
The NATCA President also mentioned staff welfare as part of the issues giving the association concern and that NATCA has always acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA),NAMA and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau(NSIB) management whenever they show good faith to the association.
He added that NATCA, however, has identified some key and impactful areas that genuinely affect our members are have yet to be addressed, adding that staff welfare issues are a complex mix and any attempt at cherry-picking or deviation from addressing these issues systematically will fail and, in some instances, cause further distortions to the overall system.
“Our members work under a strict regime of operations and usually may contract some health challenges on-the-job. We have reviewed the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act and concluded that it has failed to adequately address our members’ welfare concerns. We hope the Honourable Minister will favourably and constructively engage us to be able to address these shortfalls,” he appealed.
On the newly released Condition of Service(CoS),Agoro thanked the Minister for facilitating the release of the 2012 version (as amended) of the Staff Condition of Service for the agencies but lamented that NATCA is not in possession or has sighted the approved clean copy of the document.
He added that through several engagements and collaboration with management of the agencies, it has made observations and constructive inputs to address some of the lapses observed, hoping that these concerns have been adequately addressed to forestall any industrial impasse.
The NATCA scribe condemned the systematic migration from core mandates of agencies and proliferation of departments that have no bearing in the aviation and aerospace system.
“We have observed with alarm the proliferation and establishment of departments that have no direct or incidental bearing to the core mandates of the agencies in the sector, most especially NCAA, NIMET, NAMA and NSIB. We are sure as a legal mind you will agree with us that there are departments that have not been provided for or intended by the provisions in the NCAA Establishment Act 49 of 2022 and NAMA Establishment Act 48 of 2022 (all as amended and Gazette as No. 22). These are some of the issues that may significantly increase the financial overhead of the agencies and detract them from their original mandates.”
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