Federal Government Fires 20 Federal Airport Authority (FAAN) Managers, Directors

In a major shake-up, about 21 senior officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria were on Wednesday. Those affected, including directors, general managers and deputy general managers, were reportedly handed their termination of appointment letters.

No fewer than 10 general managers were also reportedly demoted. They were said to have earlier been improperly promoted. It was learnt from an official of the Ministry of Aviation that the sacking was the first batch of the shake-up planned by the government to reposition FAAN.
Stakeholders said the FG had been concerned about certain issues at FAAN such as the engagement of about 40 general managers, the creation of many directorates that brought about duplication of duties and raised the authority’s monthly overhead to an estimated N800m.
Sources said the government planned to reduce the number of workers by way of restructuring in order to cushion the effects of the current economic crisis. Some of the general managers were said not to have the requisite qualifications for the sensitive positions they held, as many of them, including deputy general managers, had reportedly left the university about 10 years ago and could not have qualified for the office they held.
Almost all the directors were said to have been affected, while an acting director of finance was said to have been demoted to Grade Level 10 and redeployed to the Department of Information Communications and Technology.
Many of the affected officers were moved from Grade Levels 17 and 16 down to 10, 12 and 14. Some of the demoted workers were said to have received their letters, authorising them to report to their superiors, who were their subordinates before the exercise.
The FG is also reportedly planning to reduce the number of directorates in the aviation agencies as part of the restructuring exercise. The restructuring at the airports is said to be the fallout of a panel’s report headed by the Head of Service, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, which recommended the need for a proper placement in FAAN.