An Unpopular Order

Aviation parastatals were, by last week, still footdraging on federal government’s directive that they relocate to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. They were expected to have moved over mid last month despite vehement criticisms that the directive has attracted. By the order, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN; Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, and Accident Investigation Bureau would, henceforth, be operating from the federal capital. But since the bulk of activities in the aviation sector takes place in Lagos, industry players have been questioning the rationale behind the order.

The Abuja relocation idea embracing federal ministries and all their parastatals was initiated by the Abacha regime. The headquarters of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and the Nigerian Ports Authority were actually shifted to the Federal Capital Territory from Lagos despite strident opposing argument that the operational waters of the two agencies lie mainly in Lagos and, therefore, their efficiency would be better maximally enhanced from there. The Olusegun Obasanjo administration later reversed the relocation. However, with the incumbent Umar Yar’Adua government seemingly exhuming the relocation idea, the headquarters of other federal parastatals, some analysts told TheNEWS last week, may be on their way to Abuja. Into the yo-yo policy reversals, the analysts read sheer regional, ethnocentric considerations that sacrifice reason.

A major reason advanced by government for its directive, in the aviation parastatals instance, is that relocating them to Abuja will ease their supervision by the federal Transportation Ministry. But opposing voices countered that with Lagos being the hub of aviation activities in the country, the relocation will actually hinder their practical functions. Captain Dele Ore, an aviation expert and president, Aviation Round Table, described the order as “a bad government policy” that could only breed “dislocation and destabilisation of aviation business”. Then there is the independence of the NCAA. The concern is that the Transportation Ministry, notorious for its undue inteference in the agencies’ activities, may lean too heavily on control on the NCAA, especially, as to contribute to an unsavoury outcome of the on-going Category One assessment and audit being carried out by experts from the United States of America. The four-man team, led by Mr. Larry Williams, recently resumed the audit assignment that commenced last year. If the country scales the hurdle, the Category One status will serve as the required endorsement that will allow Arik Air, Bellview and Virgin Nigeria, the three Nigerian airlines designated to fly directly into US skies, to do so. The three fliers can, for now, only wet-lease aircraft from Category One countries to fly into the United States.Industry watchers have also been calculating relocation costs. Many opined that the funds earmarked by government for the purpose could as well be pumped into the industry to improve operations and meet urgent safety demands. Opponents of the order harped that safety would, in fact, be compromised, considering the socio-economic implications of the move. A point raised is that since more than 75 per cent of aviation activities take place in Lagos, almost all the airlines and service providers for the sector are located in Lagos. Unsettling them through the rigours of relocation could be distracting and negatively affect their sensitive, official briefs, they argued.