The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, has called on the federal government to protect aviation from the actions of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC and similar others.
Yadudu while warning NLC to stay away from aviation, said airports are not an avenue for anybody to come and exercise violence behaviour or mob action.
Speaking over the weekend in Lagos during the House of Representative Ad-Hoc committee visit on a fact finding mission to ascertain the real facts concerning the demolition of 13 houses illegally built on airport land at Ajao Estate in Lagos, the FAAN MD stated that the action of NLC is very disappointing, especially given the fact that they acted in clear disregard with impunity.
In the word of Yadudu “I didn’t say NLC should stay away from FAAN, but from the airport generally. As long as they keep on picketing, they should stay away. We need stakeholders’ confidence. If the industry is killed through lack of confidence, nobody will come in. It is Nigeria that will lose. So, NLC should stay away from aviation; airlines, catering services, ground handling, agencies. We don’t need a negative influence on our staff. The whole world doesn’t need mob action.
He explained that :”They wrote to us that their people in aviation should come and picket the Lagos Airport and they should not allow flights to go to Owerri Airport because their members were harassed by the Imo State Government”.
“Airports are not an avenue for anybody to come and exercise violence behaviour or mob action. We will not take it”.
“They deliberately planned that action just to massage their ego. It has nothing to do with staff, workers or even the aviation industry and Nigeria. For any organisation that is licensed by the government to behave in personal interest and not national interest, is very unfortunate. It has nothing to do with labours or workers in Nigeria”.
He pointed out that the NLC undermined aviation and other workers because people lost their flights.
Yadudu observed that” the more you distress aviation, the more you are creating vulnerability for uncertainty. What happened that day is very regrettable and just a sign of ego massage and I think that has no place in aviation”.
He pointed out that the picketing is illegal as the Nigeria Civil Aviation Act has put aviation as an essential service and in essential services, there is no room for picketing or blocking of operations because all Nigerians need it.
He said the NLC should not come and massage their ego at the airport where it is already prohibited by law, noting that they created an illegality and undermined the nation.
According to FAAN MD, “the act was all over the world and I think it is very bad and unacceptable. We are not going to take it from them.
In fact when we saw it, I have spent the last three days at FAAN coordinating it and we have written a strongly worded letter to the Minister of Aviation, calling on the government to directly protect aviation from NLC and similar actions. There are so many other avenues in Nigeria where you can seek redress. This is not the 1970s; Nigeria has evolved, aviation has evolved. Everything has evolved and NLC needs to evolve in their processes and their ways and means of getting what they want.
I think picketing needs to evolve. No body pickets in modern society now. Anybody or organisation that feels the only way they can get what they need is by making sure is to picket organisations, personally, we will fight it. I am not talking about FAAN. I am talking about aviation generally. I am talking about everyone and other organisations in the sector.”
He continued that ,”We have written to the Minister, telling them the government needs to protect aviation from the action of the NLC. Airports are not an avenue for anybody to come and exercise violence behaviour or mob action. We will not take it.
He commended all aviation unions for not participating in the exercise, saying, “They understand that this is where they earn their livelihood. We have unions in aviation and the directorate of human resources and several other places that you can go to vent your anger and seek for redress”.
The MD pointed out that NCAA has a consumer protection department and the Federal Government has more than three agencies that can assist NLC to protect the interest of workers and address labour disputes.
“You can even go to the National Assembly. It is not acceptable. Please, you need to stay away from aviation”, Yadudu concluded.
