November 07, (THEWILL) – ANTHONY AWUNOR writes on stakeholders’ fears and expectations as the Federal Government intensifies efforts for airports’ concession
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2016 approved the concession of four major airports in the country, in a move to have them run efficiently and profitably. The airports are Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Port harcourt International Airport (PHIA) and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
As part of the process, the Federal Government also proposed a concession tenure of between 20 and 30 years for the four major airports billed for private ownership.
According to the government the plan would enable private investors to own, operate and recoup investments made on these four viable airports.
The Federal Government, however, gave a condition that the operation might be extended, depending on performance and ‘Nigeria’s best interest’ subject to negotiation and approval by the FEC.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who gave an update on the project, recently said the Federal Government was starting with the most strategic asset “because successful delivery of the programme would give stakeholders the confidence to consider other possibilities in the sector.”
This posed delays on the project and the process has continued to linger. But recent developments have shown that the government has started making progress in the process. So far, the Request for Qualifications (RfQ) phase of the Nigeria Airport Concessions Programme (NACP), has been closed since October 25, 2021.
With the closure of the phase, the Ministry of Aviation, the Transaction Advisers and the Project Steering Committee, have notified the ICRC of this development, and have now stopped receiving submissions in response to the published RFQ.
Sirika said, “The amount of response to the request for pre-qualification by highly reputable international airport operators across the globe is indicative of the level of confidence that people have in our concession programme and by extension, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Like we promised from the onset, we remain committed to ensuring the highest level of transparency and accountability till the end of the process. This is because we believe that the programme is in the best interest of Nigerians as a people, and Nigeria as a nation.”
The Ministry of Aviation had, therefore, reminded all stakeholders that the RFQ stage would be followed with a Request For Proposal (RFP), which would be published and sent directly to qualified bidders for their response.
Despite all the efforts put in by the Federal Government, aviation labour unions, including Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employee (NUATE), Association of Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), airport branch, have vowed to ensure that the airport concession plan will not work as it is not in the best interest of airport workers.
The unions have continued to criticise the manner with which the aviation minister is carrying out the concession of the four airports without carrying the workers’ unions along.
The Secretary-General of NUATE, Comrade Ocheme Aba, while addressing airport workers recently, said that the concession project would not favour the workers. Instead, he added, it would further impoverish them with anticipated job losses if allowed to succeed.
Aba emphasised that the process had not been transparent since it started.
The Chairman of ATSSSAN, FAAN branch, Comrade Ahmed Danjuma, described the concession as a one-man project by Sirika.
According to him, the planned concession was being facilitated clandestinely in connivance with the Infrastructure, Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
In his reaction, the Secretary-General of ANAP, Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu, also stated that, so far, the concession plan in the aviation industry had been marred by controversy.
Saidu also assured that the aviation unions would not fold their hands and allow the concession process to continue.
Similarly, a former Chief Operating Officer of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCo aviance), Herbert Odika, has expressed fear for the fate of the workers if the airport concession plan falls through.
Odika said, “I believe we had an interview on the issue of airport concession a few years ago, which I am not against.. However, I must stress that it will only be fair to ensure that the existing staff are well taken care of, if there is going to be any transition.”
“Honestly, I am not in the mind of the honourable minister and everybody else. However, I saw an article where he assured the staff that they will be taken care of, if there is any reason for transition which we all know happens when there is some kind of concession or buyout, merger or take-over”.
“The further appeal I want to make is on the operational side of things. Even ICAO and NCAA will tell you that their protocols and annexes are subject to environmental factors. When you talk about environmental factors, you talk about behaviours, cultures, patterns and weather. So it will be nice to have experienced people if there is going to be transition, for at least a period of one year before there is a full takeover in terms of changing people, especially in the critical areas,” Odika advised.
The former COO concurred that, going into private hands, there was a possibility of encouraging other carriers because there would be infrastructural development.
He said pricing would be more competitive so as to attract other carriers to come into Nigeria. This is to enable the common man afford air travel back.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
