We will concession airports not privatize-Sirika

…Meets Stakeholders on the State of Aviation

From left, Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), Capt. Muhtar Shaibu Usman, Minister of State for Aviation, Alhaji Hadi Sirika, Perm Sec. Ministry of Aviation, Alhaji Sabiu Zakari and Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Dr. Felix Abali at a Media chat with Aviation Journalists in Lagos.

The Minister of State (Aviation), Alhaji Hadi Sirika   doused misconceptions on the proposed concession of the airports in Nigeria. Sirika in a chat with League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents on the state of aviation in the country said the Federal Government will concession airports not privatize them. “We will not sell the airports but concession them for better service delivery and productivity. Currently the passenger traffic at our airports is 15 million annually. With concession of these airports, we can do 70-100 million passenger traffic annually.”

When asked on the assurance given to workers of Aerocontractors and the survival of the airline, the minister said: “We will do everything to save the airline. When we save the airline, we would have saved the jobs also”.

The minister met with stakeholders in the industry on the current challenges facing the sector. The series of meeting was with Aerocontractors, Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON; Aviation unions, Aviation fuel marketers, aviation journalists and among others.