The Senate yesterday listed Nigeria’s aviation sector as one of the most hostile environments in the world...
This was even as some unemployed pilots
in the country have cried out to the red chamber to bail them out of
joblessness through legislation's that will turn the sector around.
Senate’s assessment of the sector came
through its Deputy Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, when he had in audience,
leaders of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers
(NAAPE) in his office.
The NAAPE leaders, led by their
President, Jacob Ogwu, had during the visit urged Na’Allah in his
capacity as Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, and a critical
stakeholder in the sector, to help in making the Senate and the National
Assembly, beam their searchlights on problems bedevilling the sector in
order to provide a permanent solutions.
But Na’Allah in his response told the
visiting pilots and engineers that the executive and not the Senate,
should be pressured to urgently do what is right for the sector to grow
and be in proper shape.
According to him, “Nigeria’s aviation
sector, is a most hostile one to investors and other key players. The
current 8th Senate within three months of its inception in 2015, debated
on a motion sponsored by me on problems bedevilling the sector and
came up with 24-point far reaching resolutions for the way out but none
of the resolutions have been considered by the executive for more than
two years now.
“So, to us in the Senate and by
extension, the National Assembly, we have done the needful by proffering
solutions. It is left for the executive to implement the resolutions,”
he said.
“As we stand today, we have the most
hostile aviation operating environment and you cannot develop aviation
under this hostile environment. It is not possible because business
people want to make profit and you know in aviation, profit is not
available. So there is nothing actually to add.
“Unless we look at these issues
seriously, we can never guarantee the growth of general aviation, which
will serve as a support to the airlines and thereby a robust economic
stimulant for movement of people goods and services in Nigeria,” he
stressed.
He sympathised with the young pilots
being stared in the face by joblessness as a result of limited flying
experience saying, “the industry is built more on safety consideration
and not brilliance exhibited by any pilot while in training.
”No brilliance in flying but rather,
cumulative hours of flying achieved by a pilot. The more hours of flying
a pilot has to his credit, the easier he gets engaged by airline
owners. So my advice for all of you is to be adding to your hours of
flying on daily basis through rentage of aircraft for that purpose,
which is, however, expensive,” he advised.
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