The acting secretary general National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye has called for extension of corruption search light to other aviation agencies
Speaking yesterday in Lagos at the union’s headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, MMA, Lagos, Abioye condenmed the corrupt practices in the agency in the past where complaints were treated with levity by the government.
Comrade Abioye while calling for extension of corruption search light to other aviation agencies described the recent sleaze revelation in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, as a shame to the Nigerian aviation industry.
Abioye insisted that the unions were happy at the developments in the agency, but decried that since the arrest of Abdulsalam, there had been a lacuna in the system despite the appointment of an Ag. managing director for the agency by the government.
He said, “the situation has brought shame to the nation’s aviation industry. The unions had complained of several infractions in the agency over the years, but, all our complaints were thrown back at us for lack of evidence. Even, when we provide the government with evidences they asked us for, they still don’t act. We are happy at what is happening at NAMA, but there should not be a lacuna in the system. The government should bring in a substantive managing director for the agency. The Ag. managing director is incompetent because he complained that his hands are tied”.
He also alleged that most of the agencies in the sector are stuggling to pay staff salaries due to several corruption practices in the system, adding that succession plan had collapsed totally in the sector in the past 10 years.
He appluded President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts at sanitising the nation including the economy, stressing that this would serve as a deterrent to others.
It would be recalled that the EFCC had on February 12, 2016 arrested and detained about six top management staff of NAMA including its managing director, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam Ibrahim over N6.9 billion fraud in the agency.
They were on Tuesday, April 12th granted bail after their earlier arraignment last Thursday, April 7th before a Federal High Court in Lagos.
