Airport Concession: Aviation Unions Give FG 14-day Ultimatum, List Demands
- Airport workers in Nigeria may soon embark on strike if the federal government does not respond to their demands
- The workers' unions have released their demands over the ongoing airport concessions and other issues
- The aviation workers also want the federal government to implement the reviewed conditions of service
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Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
Aviation unions in Nigeria have issued the federal government a 14-day ultimatum to address earlier raised concerns about the ongoing airport concerns.
They have threatened to embark on strike at the expiration of the ultimatum if the government does not also address issues of workers’ welfare, especially as it relates to the airport concessions.
The unions also want the federal government to approve and implement the reviewed Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) conditions of service, including the negotiated salary review, by the end of March 2025.
Source: Getty Images
They issued this warning in a joint statement signed by the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE).
The statement issued after their congress called all aviation workers to be on red alert and await further directives, the SUN reports.
Aviation unions call out FG’s backdoor concessions
Recall that the aviation workers earlier raised alarm over how the airport concession agreements were being handled.
The President of NUATE, Ben Nnabue, complained that the federal government’s manner of excluding them from the plans and going about it in hushed tones raised suspicions,
The statement was issued after the congress demanded that no concession agreement be reached without inputs from the aviation unions and FAAN.
The NUATE president disclosed that he had been surprised to see concession documents from the Ministry of Aviation after the presiding minister, Festus Keyamo (SAN), had said they were not pursuing concessions.
This, he noted, has led to a loss of confidence in the entire process, especially due to the legal issues arising from the agreements.
Nnabue pointed out that where the Full Business Case stated a 50-year timeline, the agreement documents stated 80 years, raising more concerns about the true intentions behind it.
They noted that the concessioning of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, had almost been completed without their knowledge.
Speaking at the congress, the 3rd National Vice President of ATSSSAN, John Ogbe, noted that while the unions are not opposing airport concessions, they want the government to follow due process by involving the unions before adopting any Full Business Case.
Recall that aviation workers embarked on a strike in 2022 to protest the airport concession programmes by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Source: UGC
Aviation unions raise alarm on airport concessions
In related news by Legit.ng, aviation unions raised alarms over the federal government's multiple airport concession projects.
The unions said they were left in the dark and have pointed out suspicious terms in the agreement. In 2024, the government cancelled the airport concession programmes started under President Muhammadu Buhari and claimed it was not pursuing any concessions.
However, the unions recently discovered the government went ahead to initiate its own concession plans without following due process.
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Source: Legit.ng
