Opinion by Iliyasu Gadu
Following my above article which detailed the unpalatable developments in the Nigerian Aviation sector which was clearly manifested in the audit report of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development through his Special Assistant on Media Tunde Moshood issued a rejoinder which was rather long on verbiage and short on facts and figures to prove the minister’s outlandish claims of repositioning the sector for growth.
In the interest of the general Nigerian public and specifically the frequent Nigerian flyers I wish to make the following responses;
The ICAO audit report which I mentioned in my article was released in March this year. The last similar report in which Nigeria made a score of 96.3% was in 2015.
The report was presented to both the Minister and Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in March this year and the DG NCAA was expected as is the practice to in turn brief the relevant authorities of the findings of this report. But up until my article on subject the Minister and DG had preferred to ‘’sit on the report’’ rather than show it to the Federal Executive Council and brief stakeholders in the sector. This can only mean that both the Minister and DG intended to hide this rather embarrassing report from the ICAO in fear of possible reproach from and reassignment to another portfolio on the part of the Minister, and in the case of the DG non-confirmation of his appointment.
The score of 71.4% in 2024 in the ICAO security audit on Nigerian Airspace which went down from 96.3% in 2015 which is a 25% drop represent a serious regression in compliance by ICAO standards. The Minister and DG NCAA must accept full responsibility for the audit result rather than passing the buck to the previous administration as Governance is a continuum. In many ways it is a glaring failure on the part of the Minister and DG in not meeting up to one of the Minister’s Key Performance Index, (KPI)
But in his response, the Minister did not avail Nigerians of what the ministry and the NCAA was doing or intends to do in order to remedy the findings of ICAO which they have been keeping under wraps for over three months.
The minister in his statement talked about the full cooperation the Ministry and NCAA had given the ICAO team when they came on their mission. But not only is that a mandatory requirement on all ICAO members of which Nigeria is one for which the Minister cannot claim as achievement as he sought to do in his rejoinder, since the receipt of the ICAO audit report the Minister and the DG had not shown us what they have done to address the deficiencies cited.
Indeed the ICAO findings only first came to light when I mentioned it in my article.
The Minister’s unsubstantiated and tendentious allegations bordering on contempt of court and defamation.
As a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), one would normally expect Minister Festus Keyamo to be wary of making reference to an individual and case that is already before a court of competent jurisdiction.
In his rejoinder the Minister kept making reference to a ‘’Minister” who had organized a ‘’well-oiled campaign’’ against him. Although he stopped short of naming the minister in question, there would certainly be no prizes in guessing correctly that he was referring to Hadi Sirika, his predecessor in the office he currently occupies.
It is a well-known fact that Hadi Sirika has been arraigned in court to answer charges of alleged corrupt enrichment during his tenure as Minister of Aviation under the penultimate administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. As the case is still in court, it will amount to contempt of court on the part of minister Keyamo to make statements which borders on Hadi Sirika’s activities while in office which is now ‘’Sub Judice’’ as they say in law. That I believe is a matter for the court in question to determine.
It must however be stated that the ICAO report and Sirika’s case now in court are two separate issues that must be considered purely on their own individual merits. Attempts by Minister Keyamo link the two is inappropriate. The ICAO report was a result of a technical audit based on empirically measurable issues while Sirika’s case is a legal one for which the courts must be allowed to decide. As the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Keyamo must explain to Nigerians why under his watch Nigeria tumbled by 25% on the ICAO audit of Nigerian Airspace which he has been hiding from the Nigerian public for three months now.
But my concern here is the pointed reference of my involvement in the rejoinder as one of those Hadi Sirika had retained to help rubbish and possibly stop Minister Keyamo from carrying out his task of reforming the Aviation sector.
As far I am concerned I have never met Hadi Sirika personally in my entire life and have not sat down with him or any of his agents to discuss on any matter at all. If Sirika had purportedly sat to a discussion and arranged with ‘’media influencers’’ or the like on a media campaign against Minister Keyamo, I was not in any way involved. By the same token I cannot say the same for any of the media platforms and personalities mentioned, sufficing to say that they can speak for themselves.
But what I can say is that I am considering legal options available to compel Minister Keyamo to prove conclusively his allegations of my involvement with Sirika as stated in his rejoinder.
Finally I take note of Minister Keyamo’s enthusiastic statement of intent to reform and reposition the Aviation sector. But while wishing him well in this endeavour both for his and Nigeria’s sake, I would like to ask the following questions;
- – Does his reform programme for the Aviation sector involve visiting the plant of a major airplane manufacturer and doing ‘’PR’’ stunt on one of its model aircrafts as he was captured on video?
- – Does his Aviation sector reform programme include hiding vital information on an audit conducted by an apex global Aviation regulator from the Nigerian authorities and Aviation sector stakeholders for over three months without disclosure as required? Indeed why is the Minister keeping the results of the ICAO audit from Nigerians?
- – Does Minister Keyamo’s Aviation sector reform programme means the minister is at liberty to dispense with extant provisions of the Civil Aviation Act 2022 as passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by Mr. President which clearly and unambiguously states that NCAA has the sole responsibility of regulating the operations of the Nigerian Aviation sector? I
- – Minister Keyamo in his rejoinder also referred to those he called ‘’Reactionaries and….beneficiaries of the old order’’ working to stop his reforms. But was he not a prominent member and beneficiary of the same old order as a Minister in the Federal Executive Council of the Buhari administration which was the immediate predecessor of the present Tinubu administration of which he is again a prominent member as Minister?
My abiding interest in the operations of the Aviation industry is principally for the protection of the traveling public and development of the air transportation industry, a critical sector of the national economy for the benefit of the nation. Like many Nigerians I have tragically lost relations, friends and colleagues in some of the fatal air mishaps that have occurred in this country. Also like many Nigerians I am all for a safe and secure Aviation sector in the country and will continue to take interest in happenings in that sector.
Iliyasu Gadu is a Public Affairs Commentator.
