Aviation Minister In Secret Meetings With Unions In Lagos Hotel Over Airport Concessioning

Following the plan of the federal government to concession four major airports in the country and the resistance of the industry unions, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has held a second meeting with union leaders in less than two weeks.

A source close to the meeting confided in our correspondent that the meeting was held at the Protea Hotel in Ikeja on Saturday night.

The first of such meetings was held on Tuesday, 6 September 2016 at the same venue where the union leaders vowed to oppose the planned concessioning, alleging that Mr. Sirika as a minister had an ulterior motive with the exercise.

Airports earmarked for concessioning are the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) and Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) for the first phase of concession, which will be followed by the cargo designated airports.

All the leaders of the three major unions and their deputies were in attendance at the meeting while the Director-General of the Nigerian Authority of Civil Aviation (NCAA), Muhtar Usman, and the General Manager, Corporate Communications of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Yakubu Dati, and some other directors in the agencies followed Mr. Sirika to the meeting as part of the government’s delegation.

Source:Sahara Reporters