The Nation Newspaper

Category: Aviation

  • ‘Why Turkish Airlines can’t sign code share agreement with Nigeria’

    Turkish Airlines is  disposed to signing a code share agreement with Nigeria, but for the lack of a functional national carrier, Country Manager for Turkish Airlines in Nigeria, Mr. Tarkan Ince, has said.

    He said in Lagos that Turkish Airlines and Copa Airlines had begun code share flights between Europe and Latin America.

    According to Ince, ”We have had many code sharing deals with many national carriers across the world and we would have loved to strike similar deal in Nigeria. This would have facilitated more flexible flight operations between Nigeria and other countries where Turkish Airlines has flight rights.”

    He, however, noted that the fact that Nigeria does not have a national carrier makes it impossible for foreign airlines to have effective codeshare agreements.

    Meanwhile, with the new codeshare agreement between Turkish Airlines and Copa Airlines, passengers from several destinations in Latin America and Europe will enjoy seamless connections through the carriers’ ideally located hubs in Panama (Americas), and in Turkey, the bridge country that connects the East and the West.

    Copa Airlines, subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A., and Turkish Airlines, both members of Star Alliance, the leading global airline network, signed a Codeshare Agreement which will offer passengers more flight options with seamless connections through Copa’s Hub of the Americas, in Panama City, and Turkish’s seamless gateway to Europe through the company’s Hub, in Istanbul, Turkey

    The strategic Hub of the Americas of Copa Airlines, in Panama City, will allow passengers coming from Istanbul fast and efficiently connect to 74 destinations in America and the Caribbean, including the most important cities of the region

  • Air Peace trains pilots

    Ahead of its international operations into routes designated for it by the Federal Government, Air Peace has trained four of its pilots on type rating on Boeing 777.

    The pilots, according to the airline’s  spokesman, Chris Iwarah, were trained  at  the Boeing Training Centre in the United Kingdom in the handling of its triple seven aircraft type.

    Iwarah said Air Peace is the first Nigerian carrier to afford its pilots such capacity building in the new aircraft category .

    The carrier’s Chief Pilot, Captain Victor Egonu; Capt. Victor Iwo Brown, Senior First Officer Ahmad Abdullahi and First Officer Emmanuel Iwhiwhu, participated in the training, which was completed last week .

    More pilots, Air Peace said, would soon go for their training in the operation of B777 aircraft.

    The airline, which launched its regional operations with its maiden flight to Accra-Ghana in February this year,  was designated by the Federal Government to fly into Johannesburg, London, Atlanta, Mumbai, Dubai and and Guangzhou in China.

    The airline promised to deploy its B777 aircraft to service its long-haul routes. No Nigerian airline has ever used a B777 aircraft.

  • Row over N78b pay-off for ex-Airways workers

    Row over N78b pay-off for ex-Airways workers

    • Proposed national carrier in danger

    About N78 billion is standing between the Federal Government and its plan to have a national carrier this year.  The cash is the outstanding severance pay of over 6,000 workers of the liquidated Nigeria Airways,  it was learnt.

    Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, was said to have advised the government to pay the workers to clear the hurdle against the formation of a national carrier.

    Nigeria Airways was liquidated in May 2003 by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, but the airline ceased to exist from September 13, 2004.

    The  pay-off was arrived at after a series of meetings involving the Aviation Union Ground Alliance (AUGA), representing the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ( ATSSSAN) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Ministry of Aviation and Office of Accountant- General of the Federation.

    The investigations showed that some people are to reduce the cash to N43 billion.

    In August 10, 2016 letter, the Federal Ministry of Transportation wrote President Muhammadu Buhari, appealing for the settlement of terminal benefits of the defunct Airways workers.

    In the letter, Sirika said failure to pay the entitlement might stall the     creation of a national carrier.

    He said the international creditors of the defunct Airways  might sue the proposed airline for  having tangential relationship with the former.

    The letter reads: “The Ministry of Aviation arrived at a decision. To compute additional 10-year pension pay off to make up 15 years being one of the options recommended by the Inter-Ministerial Committee instead of the 20-year pay off demanded by the ex- workers / pensioners.’’

    To this end, the entitlements of all categories of beneficiaries were updated and verified in accordance with the Inter Ministerial template.” It is imperative that the liability is paid off because if unpaid it may stall the resolve to create a national carrier as the international creditors of defunct Nigeria Airways may sue the new entity as having tangential relationship with the former.”

    The Federal Executive Council on May, 21, 2003 approved the liquidation of Nigeria Airways Limited.The Bureau for Public Enterprises ( BPE) was directed to effect this.

    Sirika  said in the letter: ”However, before the company was slated for liquidation, there was no proper determination of its worth, in terms of entitlements of staff/pension that would be affected by the exercise. This culminated into problems that confronted this Ministry till date.

    “The Inter-Ministerial Committee finished its work in October 2006, recommending in addition to all earned entitlements a pension pay off system with liabilities for 15, 20 and 25 years at N49,451, 474,384.82 , N63,376,033,029.95 and N77,756,059,  178.183 to be paid to the 5,415 verified beneficiaries.

    “However, those that could not present themselves for verification at the close of the Inter-Ministerial Committee sittings were later captured in a supplementary report with entitlements amounting to N3, 019,142.80 for 2, 181 staff beneficiaries.

    “The recommendation for the pay off was predicated on the fact that it was voluntary liquidation and also the government was on the verge of changing its old pension laws to a contributory pension scheme.”

    Sirika said teh late President Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua in October 2007 directed the payment of N29.1 billion to the beneficiaries pending the determination of the years to be given as full and final pay off.

    He said: ”While the Ministry was making efforts to obtain approval for payment of the supplementary  batch, Nigeria Airways workers/ pensioners, aviation unions, Nigeria Labour Congress , Trade Union Congress, World Trade Unions were agitating that the five-year pay off was meant for families of deceased officers was not part of the Inter-Ministerial Committee’s recommendations and, therefore, wrote petitions to the President, National Assembly and filed suits against the government.

    “Consequently, the then President directed the Attorney-General of the Federation to settle out of court with the ex-workers that resulted in a seven and half year pay off recommendation which was rejected by the union.”

    Checks reveal that the documents to process the full payment are stuck in the Presidency. The attempt to reduce the amount have triggered fresh disagreement between officials of the Ministry of Aviation and personnel of the Presidency, in particular the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA).

    A source close to former ex- Airways workers said failure to pay the full amount will trigger litigation over plans to float any national carrier .The source said former Airways workers were only paid N26.9 billion as severance benefits for five years, with agreement that government will pay the outstanding N78 billion being severance benefits for 15 years .

    The agreement, he said was the fall out of recommendations by the Inter Ministerial Report of 2006 at a meeting with stakeholders in April 14, 2011 in Abuja .

    He said it will be a great disservice to the over 6,000 former workers if government decides to short change them of their entitlements after reaching an agreement.

    He said some former Airways workers in United States and United Kingdom were paid their full entitlements, but, government continues to discriminate against former workers of the national carrier living in Nigeria and French speaking African countries.

    The plot to reduce the entitlements came to the fore at the point of approval for payment between officials of the Ministry of Aviation and officials of PICA on issues bordering on demand for 33 per cent pension increase for 10 years by the former national carrier employees after they received the five years pay off.

    Investigation further revealed that Sirika is worried over the issue, as non-payment of the full        entitlements.

  • ICAO pledges support for African search and rescue services

    International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has pledged to support its new Declaration on the Improvement of Search and Rescue (SAR) services in Africa.

    Adopted during the conference on SAR in Lomé, Togo, the  agreement will be implemented in part under the “plan of action” adopted by the ministers.

    Council President Olumuyiwa Aliu underscored  SAR services role in the safety of civil aviation operations.

    He appealed for greater cooperation to enhance compliance with ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for SAR services, noting the  need for  financial commitments.

    “The provision of effective SAR services entails the mobilisation of essential state assets, and requires substantial financial commitments by your governments. Additionally, assets of neighbouring States and other international organisations are most likely to be involved in SAR missions, requiring the approval of high-level authorities,” Aliu said.

    He continued: “The ICAO ‘No country left behind’ initiative is aimed at ensuring that international standards are implemented in a harmonious manner in all member-states, so that they all have equal access to the socio-economic benefits of aviation. We are here to help you with these challenges, and our regional offices stand ready to consult with you on the most practical means forward to the required assistance and capacity building.”

    The President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé, promised to champion regional SAR issues.

    Aliu said Togo’s engagement was consistent with the significant commitment and regional leadership the country has already demonstrated in terms of aviation infrastructure development and ICAO compliance.

    At the event, Aliu presented Togo’s Prime Minister, Koni Selom Klassou, with an ICAO Council President Certificate of Recognition for the country’s achievements under the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).

    The ICAO Council President was accompanied to the Togo conference by Captain Musa Shuaibu Nuhu, Representative of Nigeria on the ICAO Council, Halidou Moussa, ICAO Air Navigation Commissioner, and  Mam Sait Jallow, ICAO’s Regional Director for Western and Central Africa.

    The event was attended by over 200 participants from 34 countries, including ministers.

    Aliu held bilateral meetings with the Togo’s President and Selom, as well as with its Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, the Mr. Ninsao Gnofam.

    He also met with other ministers, directors-general of Civil Aviation and visited the newly completed passenger terminal at Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport.

    Meanwhile, African countries, industry stakeholders, and international and regional organisations have gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the Second ICAO Meeting on the Sustainable Development of Air Transport in Africa.

    Organised with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), experts across the continent  spoke on  efforts  towards the implementation of single skies for Africa.

    Aliu urged African countries to  address their air transport liberalisation and infrastructure development priorities.

    He said: “The slow implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision has resulted in lessened African air transport connectivity and competitiveness,” he noted, stressing further the related priorities under the African Union’s (AU’s) Agenda 2063 and toward the creation of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

    Referring to the short-term need for aviation infrastructure development in Africa,  Aliu described it  a “formidable challenge,” noting that “the rapid growth of air traffic will place increased pressure on existing aviation capacity.

    He said it is currently projected that no fewer than 24 airports in Africa will be saturated by 2020.

  • FAAN, Airport car hire operators clash as airport reopens

    FAAN, Airport car hire operators clash as airport reopens

    There was a clash between Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Abuja Airport Car Hire  Association (AACHA) on Wednesday.

    FAAN alleged that five of its workers were injured and one in a coma after they were attacked by members of AACHA.

    The clash also resulted in the destruction of some property belonging to the car hire operators including canopies and some vehicles.

    Commenting on what transpired between both parties, the Legal Adviser of FAAN, Clifford Omozeghian said: “the problem we have is with the car hire people.

    “They took us to court and the court gave the judgement against them. The court gave some specific order that they should be removed from this premise because they are not registered with FAAN.

    “The court empowered the airport manager to act as a bailiff in order that this order be executed. We have tried all possible means when we sought to execute the judgement.

    “These people who are so violent. They came hard on our staffs, they broke some people’s head, some people were rushed to the hospital, we had some persons who fell into a coma.

    “So we had to send a petition to the Inspector-General Police because we were being intimidated and harassed.

    He further said: “The IGP immediately ordered that his men be on the ground to investigate the issue. They were here yesterday, and some persons were arrested and the place evacuated.

    “We had to barricade the main carpark in order to maintain sanity but by this morning, these same persons who have constituted themselves as a menace to the authority came again in full force and forcefully removed the barricade that was placed there.

    “When some of our security men approached them, they lynched some of them, they beat them up seriously, and this is embarrassing to us.

    “You can not force yourself on us, the law is so clear about that. They are not registered with us, the court has said that, but they said they must impose themselves on us. So that is where we are now.

    On the number of FAAN officials affected, he said: “We have about five men beaten this morning, we have one in coma and we have one on admission right now.

    Some of them were arrested on Thursday, we do not know what is happening right now but we expect the policemen to continue their investigations and invite us to come for further briefings.

    Reacting to the allegations raised by FAAN, one of the Board of Trustees of the association, Chief Uche Chinese said FAAN was only trying to intimidate some of its members.

    He denied having any physical confrontation with officials of FAAN.

    According to him: “They came here with personnel of SARS  and you know that they carry arms. It’s only a mad man that will want to fight someone who was carrying arms.

    Also speaking, Mr. Victor Chuba said: “We were here at the car park and they came to us with a team of SARS and they asked for Alhaji Dele, when they chained his legs and hands.

    “They arrested four other people and asked every other persons to remove his or her cars that we are not supposed to be at the airport because they said we are not legitimate concessionaire but we told them we were but we were forcefully removed and they went ahead to destroy our canopies and spoilt some of the cars.

    On what he suspects to be responsible for the clash,  Chuba said: “FAAN wants to impose other companies on our association.

    “We are concessionaire and the space we occupy presently was given to us by FAAN but now they want to intimidate us.

    “The painful thing is that members now carry one turn per week, we find it difficult to fend for our families and now they are trying to impose N2000 daily payment on us.”

    On whether the clash in any way affected the security of passengers, the Chief Security Officer of the airport, Akewusola Adisa said: “The actions did not affect the security of our passengers.

    “The security of our passenger is intact and our men are on ground to ensure that there is law and order. We have registered car hire and they are fully on ground doing their business. Everything is intact, the runway completed.

    “If you look around you will see that there is business as usual. We have come to term with the period we said we were going to use even before the day; you saw that we commenced operations on Today.”

  • Abuja Airport reopens tomorrow

    Abuja Airport reopens tomorrow

    After six weeks of closure for runway repairs, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, will re-open for commercial flights operations tomorrow. The re-opening followed six weeks of low passenger traffic at the alternate airport in Kaduna.

    Minster of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had vowed to resign his appointment if the project was not completed in record time.

    With the re-opening nine domestic carriers: Arik Air, Aero, Air Peace, Overland Airways, Dana Air, Medview, First Nation Airways and others will resume flights to Nigeria’s second largest airport.

    Five foriegn carriers namely: British Airways, South African Airways, Lufthansa, Air France/KLM that refused to fly into Kaduna will also resume flights.

    Investigations revealed that some airlines are already mobilising their workers back to Abuja for return of flights. A source hinted that many travel agents have started making bookings for flights in and out of Abuja ahead of the airport’s re-opening.

    Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has carried out certfication of the runway in line with regulatory standards. The NCAA, it was learnt, has however, pointed out a few gaps to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which is being corrected. They are, however, not critical issues of safety that can jeopardise the re- opening of the airport.

  • How to attract foreign investment, by expert

    How  can the Federal Government attract foreign investment into the aviation sector? It is by addressing issues related to policy, operating business environment, civil aviation regulations, aeronautical charge regime and the template for airport concessions, African Aviation (AA) Chief Executive, Nick Fadugba has said.

    According to him, if these are not put in place, the industry may risk losing out in getting the right funding for projects and business.

    Speaking in Lagos, Fadugba said many investors were afraid to fund projects in Nigeria because of what they described as “imbalance of perception” over how aviation businesses, including contracts and concessions, are designed.

    The government, he said, needs to rework policies that will  guarantee fidelity to contractual agreements on airport concessions and leases in order to attract the right funding.

    Fadugba said the challenge of aviation was not lack of access to finance, but financiers need some level of trust that their investment will not be jeopardised due to inconsistency policies by the government.

    According to him, although many investors in Europe and America see Nigeria as a good investment haven, they are, however, worried about government’s inconsistent policies that could trap their funds.This challenge, he noted, accounts for the high premium insurance underwriters put on asset financing in Nigeria as it affects aircraft leasing, terminal management and other businesses.

    “The problem with aviation in Nigeria is that many foreign investors are afraid of committing their funds into it because the policy environment is inconsistent. A lot of financiers are ready to move funds to support businesses in environment where the policy is stable, and until Nigerian government addresses the issue of inconsistent policies on airport concessions, status of registration of aircraft, aircraft leases, and related issues, we may not see the right funding,”he said:

    He argued that the country’s aviation sector would fair better if the issues are properly addressed, including entrenching a flexible civil aviation regulations. When these are put in place, Fadugba assured that funding would flow in because that was what investors were concerned about.

    “People are more comfortable to invest their money in climes where the policy is stable  and where there is fidelity to contractual agreements. The absence of these account for the stunted growth of the aviation sector,” he observed.

    He, therefore, urged players in the sector to form clusters that would encourage the government to take a deeper look at issues bordering on aviation financing, regulations, policy and aeronautical charges to sustain the growth of the industry

    Such advocacy, Fadugba said, was the way to go because aviation holds the key to unlock the potential of Nigeria’s socio-economic development. He also urged operators to pool their resources, skills and expertise together to attract investors set up aircraft maintenance centers. This, if done, would reduce the cost of aircraft maintenance because the global trend is to get together for global cooperation, mergers and consolidation. He advised Nigerian operators to look in that direction.

    “One of the ways to foster such cooperation is for operators to pull resources and expertise to set up aircraft maintenance centres, because of the enormous costs required for infrastructure, tooling and personnel, the option of pooling will make it affordable in the overall interests. The era of doing it alone is no  more fashionable,” he concluded.

  • Operators demand audit of NCAA’s books

    airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has called for an independent audit of the N15 billion it allegedly  owes the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The debt was said to have accrued from five per cent Ticket Sales Charge ( TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC).

    The AON, an umbrella body of domestic airlines, said it was ready to foot the bill of the independent audit. It also said it would be favourably disposed to the inclusion of reputable firms such as KPMG, PricewaterCoopers or Deloitte and Touché in the audit.

    In a statement by its Executive Chairman, Captain Nogie Meggison , AON said it will appreciate an opportunity for  the NCAA to open its books for scrutiny. Meggison said the figure being bandied by the NCAA was a gross misrepresentation of what domestic carriers owed the regulator, and accused the NCAA of trying to blackmail domestic carriers with the figure thrown around by the authority.

    According to AON helmsman, the figure made by NCAA showed that airlines either taken over by the government or that have ceased to operate owed the bulk of the alleged debt.

    “The recently published breakdown of what airlines owe of each passenger is completely wrong and false. Airlines don’t pay monthly fixed rate. The rate is a percentage of the fare paid. Besides, how can an airline like Arik Air with 27 airplanes have a fixed monthly remittance rate of N61,477,779.69 and Air Peace with an average of  five airplanes pay N109,862,633.84 monthly? At what rate were these figures calculated to get a fixed amount?” Megisson queried.

    He explained that from the phantom breakdown mentioned 80 per cent  of the bills were from airlines that were either out of operation or in receivership with the government.  Moreover, a couple of the airlines that make up the phantom numbers, like  Cronos and Africa World Airlines (AWA),  are not Nigerian registered airlines.

    “It is obvious that the phantom numbers cannot add up. The airlines are working and struggling to stay afloat in a harsh terrain and made to bear the sin of others. The NCAA should come out with a true picture of things.

    “AON, therefore, challenges the NCAA to come open with the breakdown of how it arrived at the phantom bill of N15bn and publish the details of the airlines and what they owe. Perhaps doing so would erase the negative impression being fed the public as it will reveal that the money they claim airlines owe that have now either been taken over by the government (AMCON) or is a historic debt owed majorly by airlines that have gone out of business over the years due to the harsh environment, unfriendly polices and the continued burden of multiple charges or  falsified account that can’t stand the test of an external audit or a law court trial,” Meggison said

    The AON boss argued that airlines owing in Nigeria is not unprecedented anywhere in the world. According to him, what matters is that whatever is owed is being serviced. Stressing his point, he said most of the current and active 29 AOC operating airlines are servicing their debts as agreed between themselves and the relevant agencies after the usual reconciliations.

    “AON hereby further offers to pay for an independent auditing firm at its own expense to audit NCAA as an organisation, and the N15bn NCAA claims airlines owe. We, therefore, encourage the NCAA to take advantage of this offer and open its books for this audit to take place. So, the general public, which we believe have been misinformed, will get the true picture of the real situation. The exaggeration by the NCAA is tarnishing to the good image of the airlines and as such, AON is unhappy with this unfortunate, damaging and misleading pronouncement by the NCAA,”  he said.

  • FAAN to eliminate touting at Lagos Airport

    TO curb illegal activities and touting at the Hajj and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) Ikeja, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has set up a  34-member task force to sanitise their operations.

    There are 17 organisations at the Hajj and Cargo terminal. Some of them are NAHCO, SAHCOL, DHL, Police, Customs, Nigeria Immigration Service, Department of State Services (DSS), Aviation Security (AVSEC) and Customs agents.

    Others are Allied Air Cargo, Emirates, Air France/KLM, British Airways, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Port Health, Ethiopian Airlines and National Agency for Food Drug and Control (NAFDAC) among others.

    Each organisation is expected to submit names of two members of staff as members of the committee.

    Activities at the terminal has been restricted to 12 hours (7am-7pm) from the initial 24-hour period.

    FAAN said the exit and entrance gates at the terminal would henceforth be opened for commercial activities from 7am while the gates are to be locked at 7pm.

    FAAN, however, said the new regime would not affect the operational activities, but commercial activities within the terminal.

    Commenting on the new initiative, Terminal Manager, Hajj and Cargo, Mr. Asizehi Musa, said the essence of the taskforce was not to threaten any agency or operator, but to ensure sanity at the terminal, reduce touts and touting activities and make the nation’s airports in compliant with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

    He said with the new approach, no truck would henceforth be allowed to spend the night at the terminal, adding that the management had over the years frowned at such practices.

    To make the new initiative a success, Musa said FAAN would provide a patrol vehicle, which would monitor activities at the terminal and ensure that only those who have business within the terminal are allowed.

    Musa assured that FAAN would cooperate with all stakeholders, especially cargo agents, Nigeria Customs Service, ground handling companies, the Nigerian Police and other stakeholders within the terminal.

    He said: “For many years, the issue of access control has been on the front burner and it seems the FAAN is incapacitated, which is not true. But, we can’t allow things to continue like this. Access control is very important and necessary to the safety of all users. The era of 24-hour operation would be a thing of the past.

    “As from this moment, activities are now reduced to 12 hours and I seek the cooperation of all. However, there will be sensitisation exercise before the taskforce commences work in full. But, the restriction exercise does not affect operation areas. It’s only for commercial purpose.”

  • Fire guts FAAN’s headquarters in Lagos

    Fire guts FAAN’s headquarters in Lagos

    Fire yesterday gutted the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) headquarters at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
    The fire affected the Audit, Communications and Engineering Departments, among others.
    FAAN fire service officials said the incident, which occurred around 7 a.m., was caused by an electrical fault.
    Files and other equipment belonging to the authority were destroyed in the inferno.
    Lagos Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni and some of his top officers rushed to the scene to maintain law and order.
    The incident led to gridlock on the airport road.
    Fire fighters from FAAN and the Lagos State Fire Service battled to put out the fire.
    The government is auditing FAAN workers.
    Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives were said to have visited the agency on Monday.
    The audit department was at the centre of a scandal last year in which an official was arrested for manipulating furniture allowances between 2013 and 2015.
    Owoseni, who got to the scene at 10:55 a.m., said the immediate cause of the fire could not yet be ascertained, adding that investigations into the incident have been begun.
    “The fire service responded to the distress call and ensured that the fire was prevented from spreading,” Owoseni said. “Some of the offices were affected and the FAAN management is already making arrangements to relocate some of the departments to other areas not affected by the fire.
    “The police are there to prevent casualty and mutiny. The police in conjunction with FAAN’s security have taken control of security. We are still on the cause of the fire, it is still fresh, but the reasons behind the fire will soon be out with reports from several agencies.”
    The Commissioner of Police, Airports Command, Besan Gwana, said his men on patrol spotted smoke coming out from the rooftop of the building and immediately called the Lagos State Fire Service.
    Also at the scene were Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director-General Captain Muhtar Usman and the Director of Consumer Protection Directorate, Adamu Abdullahi.
    FAAN has set up a panel to ascertain the cause of the fire at its corporate headquarters.
    The panel consisting NCAA, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Department of State Services (DSS), Police, and personnel of FAAN’s legal, safety and aviation security departments is to unravel the immediate and remote cause of the fire and the extent of damage.
    FAAN’s Managing Director Saleh Dunoma said the police also carry out an undercover probe into the cause of the inferno to establish theories of conspiracy and possible sabotage.
    He said it was premature to give the cause of the fire as it could jeopardise investigations.
    Dunoma said the affected sections in the Director of Commercial Services office, audit and corporate communications departments had been cordoned off to avoid tampering with evidence.
    He said workers using offices in the affected sections would be relocated to other sections in the building.
    The fire Dunoma said, would not lead to shutting down the headquarters.
    Dunoma said: “We are all dejected about this fire as you can see the workers are not happy. But, FAAN is not shutting down, we have set up a panel and we will allow them to do their work. This is the reason we cordoned off the affected sections of the building.
    “The reason for setting up the panel is to establish the immediate and remote cause and extent of damage,” he said.