Sirika’s aviation ministry; Turbulent 8yr-flight

[By VICTOR NZE]Despite being arguably Nigeria’s most funded parastatal, the Federal Ministry of Aviation almost crashed its own reputation through last minute clandestine and covert policy decisions that threatened its rather appreciable trajectory initiated by its minister, Hadi Sirika.

It is widely claimed among industry circles that the minister gets what he wants at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings, and whenever he wants it too. Succinctly put, they say that no FEC meeting is complete without the traditional allocation to Hadi Sirika and his Federal Ministry of Aviation.

However, despite this status, lingering disputes with labour and operators’ groups, in addition to public disapprovals of its policies characterized the near eight-year tenure of Sirika.

There are more litigations involving the ministry with its private sector operator groups and stakeholders than there are courts in Nigeria; there are more labour disputes between the ministry and its workers than there are the number of agencies functioning within it.

Some of these disputes have lingered for many years stretching nearly eight years of the life of the just-concluded Muhammadu Buhari administration.

While Sirika gets his routine allocations from the FEC, industry operators have continued to groan under the weight of multiple taxations, with charges and other sundry fees annually raised by the regulatory agencies in the Ministry.

This is, however, as the regulatory agencies, in their own defence, have claimed that they are being forced to self-source fund to run their organisations since the Ministry of Aviation has either slashed their statutory allocations or scrapped it outrightly. They now fleece the operators to stay afloat by resorting to raising their internally generated revenues.

The situation also leaves many questions as what the Ministry and its minister do with all that hundreds of millions of Naira it routinely receives from the FEC.

On the other hand, industrial disputes involving aviation workers with their agencies have remained unresolved. Under Sirika’s tenure, it became a case of one strike or planned industrial action every month, with threats to shut down aviation facilities making headlines on any given day. Most of the disputes have bordered on welfare, while only one, the issue of airport concessioning, has been on dispute over a questionable policy of the minister.

This is the livery of Sirika’s near-eight years at the Ministry of Aviation, which he also squeezed in a renaming to the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace, with hours to exit from office..

To his credit, hardly any airport failed to get a touch of facility upgrade, including new and high-class international and domestic terminals for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, in Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja, respectively.

Overall, more than 60 per cent of airports across the country received some kind of infrastructural upgrade or the other during his tenure.

The same goes for airport runways in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu airports, under the tenure of Sirika.

However, the quality of some of these upgrade sadly became the subject of another dispute among stakeholders in the Aviation industry.

The country’s airports management agency, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) routinely hiked operational charges and sundry fees on private aviation firms operating in the country, while the affected operators sought to transfer these costs to their customers.

The business environment has led to fewer operators rather than enjoy market boom on the strength of more customers, are left lamenting higher operational costs, which further forced some to shut down completely. It never, strangely, bothered the Aviation minister, Hadi Sirika.

Nigeria’s aviation industry was gradually drifting into one of the most, if not the most, investor-unfriendly sector courtesy of Sirika and his uncompromising and non-negotiable stance to administration, which has put some agency heads in tight corners, where they either compromise or face the sack.

In a further shake down, the Aviation Ministry even only recently disclosed of plans to introduce landing fees for helicopter shuttle operators in order to raise revenue.

According to Sirika, the Ministry of Aviation wants to start charging landing fees on operators of helicopter shuttles in the country as way of internally generating revenue.

Sirika, who disclosed this at a ceremony to introduce the most recent class of trained Helicopter Monitoring Officers, in March, said the Federal Government will start charging helicopter operators Nigerian airspace landing fees.

However, going by the loudness of the sigh of relief emanating from the sector on the conclusion of the eight-year rule of the minister and his principal, ex-President Buhari, it is highly suggestive that not many will miss him; not even his directors at the ministry, departments and agencies (MDAs), who he allegedly arm-twisted and coerced into going along with his most disagreeable policies.

To his credit though, hardly any airport, especially the viable ones failed to benefit from some kind of appreciable facility upgrade in the last eight years. And in the controversy surrounding the disbursement of relief funds for operators in the sector during the pandemic, the minister ensured that the first tranche of funds were made available to airlines, aviation firms and workers and other stakeholders as intervention.

The minister further attracted several ICAO certifications for some airports in the country. These recognitions remain prestigious and tend to raise the ratings of the facilities on which they have been bestowed on.

However, that is where the praises stop, labour groups in the aviation sector have compiled a shockingly long list of negatives and disputes with the minister in about seven years alone, on one hand, as the private operators have a plethora of issues to resolve with the unyielding minister.

For all his positives, Sirika’s attempts to foist a national carrier on the country is one sore point in the tenure of the Buhari government, in the same way as the rush to appoint or constitute previously rejected policies and opinions from stakeholders baffle many in the industry.

The issue of airport concessions is neither here or there, as after many years of disputes and court litigation, was entered into at the last minute, in a Heaven’s may care attitude, without even the sore issues in contention being resolved.

Sirika’ in a move also seen as desperate, similar to the purported commissioning of the Nigeria Air project, announced reconstituting the Boards of agencies in the Ministry of Aviation, many years, infact, over seven years after stubbornly rejected same suggestion forwarded by stakeholders who had opined that the move would drive growth and improvement in the sector.

However, Sirika’s insistence on playing along with the lacklustre Boards is seen in many circles as wanting an agreeing and amenable Board which would not question or confront him on any issue in the sector, even as the ministry itself claimed its reason borders on the suggestion being not in accordance with the Acts of Law establishing the aviation agencies.

And with hours to the end of Buhari administration, reconstituting the agencies’ Boards is suddenly in line with Acts of Law, according to Sirika and his associates.

The Boards of agencies constituted include; the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the recently created Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).

A statement by the Head of Press and Public Affairs in the Ministry, Odutayo Oluseyi disclosed that the NCAA is to be chaired by Mr. Lai Are; FAAN Board – Capt. Fola Akinkuotu; NAMA’s Board – Capt. Bashir Sodangi; NSIB – Engr. Ezekiel Danboyi Zang; NiMet Board – Dr. Imoro Kubor; while the NCAT Board – Capt. Jonathan Ibrahim.

In the same line of last minute actions, some small-time airports were renamed, in a move seen as totally uncalled for.

The airports were renamed after some prominent Nigerians in recognition of their individual contribution to the development of the nation in different sectors.

The Akure International Airport renamed to Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, Benin Airport now known as Oba Akenzua II International Airport Benin, Dutse International Airport renamed Muhammed Nuhu Sanusi.

Other airports that were renamed last minute by the outgoing President are: Ebonyi International Airport is now known as Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo Airport and Gombe International Airport renamed Brigadier Zakari Maimalari.

Ibadan International Airport renamed after Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Ilorin International Airport named General Tunde Abdullahi Idiagbon, Kaduna International Airport (Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina), and Maiduguri International Airport named after President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the statement Makurdi International Airport renamed Joseph Sarwuan Tarka, Minna International Airport renamed Mall. Abubakar Imam, Nasarawa International Airport named after Sheikh Usman Danfodio, Osubi International Airport renamed Alfred Diete Spiff, Port Harcourt International Airport renamed Obafemi Jeremiah Awolowo and Yola International Airport now known as Lamido Aliyu Mustapha Airport.

On the viable airports, the aviation ministry controversially went ahead to announce their concession despite mounting protest against such moves raised by aviation workers.

It would be recalled that in March, 2023, Aviation workers’ unions dragged the Minister, Sirika and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to court over the planned concession of major airports across the country.

The workers’ unions comprising; Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria; National Union of Air Transport Employees; Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals and the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUB-FAAN Branch) filed the suit in the Lagos division of the National Industrial Court on March 14, 2023 through their lawyer, Funmi Falana of the Falana and Falana Chambers.

The workers noted that Sirika and FAAN do not have the authority to initiate a concession deal on the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt; Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory without the consent and authorisation of the Federal Government, the 36 state governments and the 774 local government councils.

The workers are seeking an injunction from the court to restrain Sirika and FAAN from privatising the airports.

“Restrain the defendants (Sirika and FAAN) from determining the employment of the members of the claimants without complying with the provisions of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Act (CAP F5) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Reviewed Conditions of Service 2021, in any manner, whatsoever and howsoever,” one of the court documents read.

Sirika in October 2022 formally unveiled the bidders for the Lagos, Abuja and Kano terminals, signifying the end of the Request for Proposals phase of the Nigeria Airports Concession Programme.

Only penultimate week, after years of disputes with relevant stakeholders, the Aviation ministry apart from renaming to become the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace, also went ahead with the concessioning of arguably two of the country’s most viable aviation sector enterprise; the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.

According to Sirika, while the Abuja would be concessioned for 20 years, that of Kano would be concessioned for a 30-year period.

The decision further left many worried at these decisions by the ministry at the twilight of its existence may only serve to lay mines for the incoming government, especially considering that many of the decisions are irreversible.

That has been the story of the Ministry of Aviation as piloted by Hadi Sirika in the last eight years of the Buhari administration in Nigeria.

By handing out increased flight frequencies to foreign airlines to exploit the Nigerian civil and commercial aviation market, the minister also put a squeeze on domestic operators through increased airport charges and fees by agencies, which claim to be acting on the instructions of the Ministry.

Worse still, Nigerian domestic and sub-regional carriers do not get special preferences or interventions from the Sirika parastatal on international matters.

According to industry operators, the Aviation ministry does not carry them along or consider their positions on international disputes with foreign countries, a situation which leaves them to resolve these disputes alone.

On the distasteful matter of the national carrier, and the disrespect the minister attempted handing out to Nigerians and Nigeria, in collusion with the Ethiopian Airlines, the less said, the better.

The rather worrying aspect is the attempt by some obviously paid human damage control mechanisms working to explain away the disaster by comparing the start-off to the cases of the Emirates Airways which commenced operations with a borrowed aircraft. As if it is the status of the airplane that is the bone of dispute.

The Nigeria Air project has cost Nigeria several billions of Naira from logo design executed in the Middle East to business name registration, even as it is yet to have its own portal for a company that has cost a fortune to get off the ground.

Describing Sirikia’s latest attempt to launch the Nigeria Air project as a ‘hurried last minute desperation,’ the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), listed grounds to fault the minister’s action to include that, the Nigeria Air project is yet to obtain the full certification of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) license to fly, as it is only at the first stage of approval.

The group also noted that a subsisting court injunction prevents the minister with the project, as, according to them, Sirika is facing court contempt if he continues with the national carrier promotion.

AON spokesman and Chairman of the United Nigeria Airlines, Prof Obiora Okonkwo said that all the statements and actions of Sirika ‘are in flagrant disobedience of the orders of the Federal High Court of Nigeria which halted the said moves by the Minister to float the said airline until the determination of the substantive suit brought by AON against it.’

“We make bold to respond because of the myriad of inquiries from concerned and patriotic Nigerians and industry stakeholders who have either called or sent messages over the Minister’s comments.

“For the avoidance of doubt, AON welcomes the establishment of more airlines in Nigeria for we believe that the skies are big enough to accommodate all. However, AON is against any contraption that is shadowy and not in the best overall interest of the country.

“We need the outgoing Minister to come forward, defend and counter the very damning submissions in our suit.

“Again, it is very disturbing that a Minister is desperately hoodwinking the entire nation into accepting a massively flawed process just 72hours to the end of his 7-year tenure in office as Minister of Aviation, even as the courts have halted him,” AON wondered.

Aside allegedly arm twisting the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) into fast-tracking the process of issuance of the Airline Operators Certificate (AOC) for Nigeria Air, which is still at the Stage One, with four more stages to go, minister attempted to bulldoze his way through court orders halting the project.

According to Okonkwo, the Federal Government should understand that ‘the actions and pronouncements of this Minister is not only impugning on the independence and integrity of the NCAA, but also capable of bringing the entire industry into disrepute thereby adversely affecting the ratings of Nigeria’s airlines on the global stage.’

In defence, Sirika after gathering notable dignitaries in Abuja for the inauguration of the national carrier, last Friday, bold told the crowd: “Nigeria Air Limited has come to stay and, is a Public Private Partnership between Nigeria and Ethiopian Airlines which we hope will restore the glory of the Aviation Industry to meet international standards.

“Right now processes have commenced for the aircraft to start Operation domestically as time goes on, we are expecting thirty-five aircraft more in the next five years to operate all over the world as Nigeria Air Limited,“ Sirika explained, adding that 30 aircraft are expected to form the fleet of Nigeria Air in the next five years. However, only one aircraft has arrived. And that one was not even a Nigeria Air aircraft but an Ethiopian Airline registered plane.

However, according to investigators who probed the aircraft which landed at the Abuja airport, Friday, May 26, 2023, the Nigeria Air plane is a Boeing 737-860 Max type aircraft, with Registration Number ET-APL. Aircraft Mode: S Q4005C with Serial Number: 40965/4075.

The plane is said to 10 years, 8 months of age, having flown on its maiden flight on 22nd June 2012 as an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft and then later it became a part of Malawi Airlines fleet on 16th February 2014.

It was re-leased to Ethiopian Airlines on 12th August 2015, before it landed in Nigeria on 26th May 2023 in Nigeria Air livery without changing ownership.

By attempting to commission a disputed project with less than 72 hours left before exit from office, this, sadly is another Sirika magic that industry stakeholders have become used to in the near eight years of the Buhari tenure.

Investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, disclosed recently that the Nigeria Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft commandeered by Sirika from Ethiopian Airlines ‘has had its hurried wrap job removed and is now back in regular service for @flyethiopian on its usual Addis Ababa- Mogadishu route – the same route it flew as recently as last week before being ‘commissioned’ in Abuja by @hadisirika.’

Such is the dust raised by the Nigeria Air project that some stakeholders have demanded a probe or inquiry into the deal.

Policy analyst and Professor of Strategy and Development, Anthony Kila, advised the Bola Tinubu’s government to institute an independent public inquiry into the controversial Nigeria Air, as he urged that the inquiry should be charged to examine and make public the conception, process negotiations, partnerships, expenses and parties involved the Nigeria Air project.

Kila, who is also a Commonwealth Institute Director and author of many policy papers on aviation made the call during a panel discussion while featuring on Arise Television, recently.

“Nigeria Air project has generated too much controversy and has now become a source of public concern rather than the laudable achievement it was planned to be due to the way it has been handled so far with stakeholders alleging a series of malpractices and calling attention to an un-respected court pronouncement,” Kila said.

To make matters worse, the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation, Tuesday, June 6, labeled the May 26, launch of the national carrier, Nigeria Air by ex-Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, as ‘fraudulent.’

Speaking during a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Mr. Emmanuel Meribole, the Interim Managing Director, Nigeria Air, Capt Dapo Olumide, and heads of aviation agencies, Tuesday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Biodun Olujimi, expressed disbelief as to why the former Aviation minister tried to launch the national carrier ‘on the last work day of the Buhari administration.’

According to Senator Olujimi, ‘the aircraft used during the unveiling was a legitimate chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines and after the unveiling, the owners went back with their aircraft.’

Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, described the launch of Nigeria Air as ‘a fraud.’

Rep Nnaji explained that after meeting stakeholders in the aviation sector, ‘they largely denied knowledge of the launch.’

Oracle Today also recalls that in March, 2023, under the tenure of Sirka, global civil aviation regulators, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expressed worry that trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines operating in Nigeria have risen by 12.39 percent to $743,721,097 in January 2023 from $662m in the corresponding period last year.

IATA which disclosed of the increase in foreign airlines’ trapped funds, in a letter addressed to Sirika, also urged the minister to intervene and ensure the resolution of the issue of airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria.

“For over a year, Nigeria has been the country with the highest amount of airline-blocked funds in the world. Please find attached the comparative table of airlines’ blocked funds by country.

“Moreover, as of January 2023, airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria have increased to $743,721,092 from $662m in January 2022 and $549m in December 2022,” the letter read.

While highlighting the socio-economic impact of the airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria, IATA said the increasing backlog of blocked funds of international airlines will impact negatively, the foreign direct investment in the country at a moment the country was expecting investment in the concession of some of its major airports.

“Going by the law of demand and supply, the reduction of airline inventories in the Nigerian market will lead to the ticket fare increase, which will further burden average Nigerians,” the letter continued.

Responding, Sirika, during in a meeting with the IATA team, foreign airlines and travel agents assured the foreign carriers that he would take the issue up with the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria. That matter was not resolved by May 29, 2023, when Sirika left office, and some foreign airlines have since packed up shops in Nigeria as a consequence.

Only, last week, IATA concluded that tourism and air connectivity ‘are no longer a big priority for Nigeria, along with four other countries, it listed to include; Bangladesh, Algeria, Pakistan and Lebanon.

“In August 2022, Dubai’s Emirates Airlines cut all flights to Nigeria because the Nigerian government did not allow the carrier to withdraw their money from the Nigerian bank account and change it into convertible currency to wire it back to Dubai.

“This situation has not gotten better, but worse,” IATA reported.

Under Sirika, Nigeria jointly accounted for 68.0 per cent of all foreign airlines’ blocked funds in the world following the failure by the governments to repatriate foreign airlines’ trapped funds.

IATA listed Nigeria as topping the unenviable chart of defaulting countries with ($812.2 million), Bangladesh ($214.1 million), Algeria ($196.3 million), Pakistan ($188.2 million), and Lebanon ($141.2 million).

IATA has warned that rapidly rising blocked fund levels threaten airline connectivity in the affected markets, as it claims that the industry’s blocked funds have increased by 47 per cent to $2.27 billion in April 2023 from $1.55 billion in April 2022.

Nigeria topped the non-repatriated airlines’ funds chart under the Sirika tenure, despite splashing billions of Naira on a fictitious Nigeria Air project.

“Nigerian carriers on the sub-regional flight operations have narrated their sour ordeal at the hands of governments in West Africa who levy unprecedented charges on their operations, despite a shared code on the axis. However, the minister appeared to be more concerned with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its Emirates Airlines,” David Maye, a Yenagoa-based travel agent told Oracle Today.

Sirika’s tenure at the Minister of Aviation has denote many meanings, but to posit that he left it the way he met it would amount to an understatement.

Stakeholders can only conclude that the incoming country’s minister of Aviation must have a degree in crisis resolution and human management in order to manage the badly damaged psyche and trust of the workers and operators in the industry.