ASRTI backs Reps’ plan to centralize security regulation at all Nigerian airports

REACTING to plans by the House of Assembly to spearhead a Bill aimed at centralizing all airport security under one regulatory umbrella, Aviation Round Table (ART), has backed the move and stressed that what currently obtains is a disgrace to the nation and one reason for the numerous embarrassment, especially on social media.

The body of professionals in the Nigerian aviation industry also said that the centralisation of security screening checkpoints at the nation’s airports would trump the current multiple checks by various security agencies.

President of ART, Dr. Gabriel Olowo, in an interview in Lagos, lamented that despite the Ease-of-Doing-Business imitiative of the Federal Government, myriads of security points at the airports had made nonsense of the policy, stating that this has frustrated the implementation of the law.

Olowo explained that if the current House of Representatives led by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House could ensure the implementation of the policy, the image of Nigeria would swell greatly in the comity of nations, while Ease-of-Doing-Business would be achievable.

He said: “The Gbajabiamila House of Representatives is thinking of giving Nigeria something close to TSA. That is sharing security information and just having one security checkpoint at the airports. That is cheery news for me and the entire body of ART is throwing its weight totally behind this.

“Most of the time, when policy statements come out, implementation always becomes a big task. We have spoken at various times on this matter. Our Secretary General, Grp. Capt. John Ojikutu has released a lot of documents on how this can be done several years back.

“The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo came, issued a statement on this matter, the many checkpoints disappeared at a time. I don’t know whether it was gazetted or not. Action has always been our problem. We have discussed many issues and matters, but implementation has always been our problem. If that will be our Christmas gift for 2021 for the sector, get it done and sanitise our airports.”

“All these many checkpoints at our airports, and the ‘what do you have for the boys?’ Give us a bad image non-stop. All these unnecessary compliments at airports, rather than concentrate on the job; check the documents and let the fellow move are unwarranted.”

According to him, in the U.S., all the information about a passenger – political criminal, corruption, drug and others are in one centre and accessible by all the security agents, insisting that those could also be replicated here through technology.

“Three stages only. Once the check-in is done, you have your boarding pass, you go to the security door and once that is done, you are in the screening area. You go to the shopping lounge. As simple as that.

“But, here, you go through immigration, somebody is in the security team, somebody will check your international passport in and out. World best practices become an issue for us in Nigeria. Why? Are we the only country in the world that has a problem? Best practices are best practices and it is done in other economies. I salute Gbajabiamila and I think he is able to drive this to a good conclusion,” he said.