An aviation stakeholder and publisher of Aviation safety and Security magazine, Alhaji Abdulyakeem Umar has advised the government against the planned concession of four viable airports in the country.

Alhaji Umar observed that the plan by the federal government to concession four major airports in the country is abnormal and ill timed as it will lead to job losses.

Disclosing this to aviation correspondents in Lagos while reacting to the planned concession of the four airports, Umar urged the federal government to drop the idea.

He observed that it will be wrong for government to concession only four viable airports leaving the 17 non viable ones that depended on the only four viable ones to survive.

According to Umar, “it is totally wrong to concession airports because only four viable ones in Abuja, Lagos, Portharcourt and Kano have been selected. What happens to the 17 other non viable ones that depend largely on these four airports. Anybody taking the four airports should go with the liabilities of the 17 non viable ones”

Umar advised government to improve on Yola, Jos, Akure and Makurdi airports by designating them as agro-airports to boost the evacuation of farm produce.

Umar noted that the move was aimed at killing FAAN and sending workers into unemployment market as it was in the case of the liquidated Nigeria airways, adding that the government has been wasting human resources especially manpower.

He called on senator Hadi Sirika as an aviator to stamp his feet on ground and take far reaching decisions aimed at developing the aviation sector in the country.

Umar while urging the minister to consult the Aviation Round Table (ART) team for the way forward in the aviation sector by tapping from their wealth of their experience called for total restructing of the aviation sector to achieve development.

He added that some management staff have no business in the sector.