Nigerian Flight Deck Travel and Business Reportage
- Says Minister should focus on his below 20% roadmap
A stakeholder and security consultant, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd) has accused Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika of setting up a security force for the Aviation Security in the Airports without any consideration to the National Security Council.
This is just as he said the Minister is muddling things up and creating problems for the incoming Administration rather than facing his so-called Roadmap where nothing of the listed items is up to 20% completed.
He said they seem to have smuggled clauses in the new FAAN Act, (Sections 7 to 9 of the Act to be precise) that put all the government security agencies working in the nation’s airports under the control of FAAN.
According to the retired group captain, a unified control is required for all the security agencies in the airports but such command and control must be given to one of the security agencies and not to any of the Commercial Aviation Operators in the airports.
Ojikutu stressed,”I don’t know why NASRDA, a parastatal under the ministry of Science and technology mostly for research purposes into outer space can be compared and combined with regulated operations in the inner space. The US we would like to emulate has the FAA distinguished and separated from NASA. Why would Sirika be muddling up things and creating problems for the incoming Administration rather than facing his so-called Roadmap where nothing of the listed items is up to 20% completed.
“He has just set up a security force for the Aviation Security in the Airports without any consideration to the National Security Council. “There seems to be smuggling clauses in the new FAAN Act, (Sections 7 to 9 of the Act to be precise) that put all the government security agencies working in the nation’s airports under the control of FAAN. I have strong belief that the National Security Council, Services Chiefs and the NASS could not have given consent to justify or to allow any government agency that is not established for the internal security or the border security purposes to have control over such agencies under their jurisprudence command and control.
“Yes, a unified control is required for all the security agencies in the Airports, such command and control must be given to one of the security agencies and not to any of the Commercial Aviation Operators in the airports. Airports are the internal boundaries of the nation with other nations and therefore an important asset of security to national security.
“The multiple interferences of the minister into the established functions of the aviation agencies may sooner than later collapse the viability or the sustainability of the Aviation Industry.
“To arrest the muddling of the outgoing minister, return the aviation transportation sector to the transport ministry for the government intermodal transportation policy to work and sustain: return the NASRDA to the ministry of Science and Technology: NiMet to the ministry of Environment and NSIB to the ministry of intermodal transportation.
“Sirika has forgotten that not less than 12 of the 22 federal government airports are joint-users with the military. The FAAN Act needs a very quick reverse review.
