The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has called for enhanced funding from the Federal Government to address critical gaps in the training of its technical personnel and upgrade essential airport infrastructure necessary for meeting international certification and audit standards.
The authority urged that such funding should be sourced directly from the revenue it generates and currently remits to the federal government.
FAAN’s Director of Human Resources, Dr. Lukman Eniola, made this appeal during an interview with “The Nation” over the weekend.
He emphasised that increased investment in personnel capacity building and facility upgrades is vital to closing past gaps and shortcomings in the aviation sector.
Dr. Eniola noted that bridging these gaps aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, particularly in repositioning the aviation industry for global competitiveness.
He praised the efforts of FAAN’s Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, for her strategic focus on building staff capabilities and providing the necessary tools to enhance operational processes, procedures, and regulatory compliance for improved airport management.
According to him, the authority has already ramped up training initiatives, with about 85 percent of its critical technical personnel undergoing specialised programmes aimed at optimising airport operations.
The FAAN Director said, “So we need more support from the Federal Government from the revenue we generate. We’re looking at the government giving us more of what we generate to be able to plough into infrastructural development. We will need more money to acquire newer equipment because of the evolving technology in the global aviation landscape.
“Things change every day, in terms of knowledge for those expected to manage aviation infrastructure, in terms of the work environment.
“We’re talking about plugging into environmentally conscious trends in global aviation that border on sustainability. We’re talking about evolving trends in airport management, many things with airports. So you need more money to be able to achieve these. You see a lot of innovations in terms of technology, artificial intelligence, and robotic Internet of Things. All of these are tied around it, so you need more money to achieve these.”
He said the airport authority will continue to widen the scope of its engagement with many organisations to deliver efficient services and a good travel experience through its facilities.
Besides, he said FAAN is scaling it’s in – house capacity in training in order to earn revenue to meet its obligations and international certification.
To achieve this, the FAAN Director of Human Resources said the authority continues to collaborate extensively with international aviation organisations, including: International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Airports Council International (ACI) and other bodies for the training of its personnel to meet standards set for meeting international certification.
He said, “People who deserve to take this training are identified. The training needs are also identified. The resources required for the training are sourced, and adequate timetable for this training are maintained. Our training school has been resuscitated with the right personnel and our training plan are also aligning with what the organization require in two measures to train, also to generate revenue.”
He said FAAN has begun moves of convert intention into action within the focus of its mandate.
Eniola said FAAN is working the clock to achieve the running of smart airports, which requires competent, technically certified personnel.
He said the management team continues to emphasise the motivation of its personnel to drive efficiency.
He said the airport authority continues to latch onto data in allocating resources for critical areas including safety, engineering, operations and other departments.
He said, “We have invested more funds in the training of our technical personnel, knowing that competency is required for any smart airport operations in the old world.
“What the personnel lacked previously was the willpower, the leadership, support for them to excel, and that is what we have brought back in terms of human resources, capacity development, support for initiatives that are not injurious to the organisation and to the nation at large.”
Eniola also disclosed a recent move by the management of the airport authority to motivate its work force to bolster efficiency.
He said, “As a socially responsible organisation, we strive to motivate the workforce. When you motivate people, you are expecting a certain kind of behaviour, and our focus is to achieve optimal satisfaction of the workforce. We have worked assiduously to make sure they get what they deserve, and we focus on making at least if we make 100 per cent, we are determined to ensure that the workers get at least 40 per cent of the 100 per cent to encourage them.
“After a lot of negotiations, engagements, and approvals, we have started paying the arrears on the minimum wage fixed by the Federal Government. Although the payment of the arrears is in batches, we have kept our promise as a socially responsible organisation.”
Eniola said FAAN is making efforts to close gaps identified by ICAO in the last airport audit.
He said: “We are going forward to fix the identified gaps following meetings with the affected directorates.
“We have spoken to our safety departments, the operations department, and the engineering department, and they’ve provided us with all those gaps, some of them, we have started closing with some of the trainings we have approved for. And we’re sending some of our aerodrome rescue and fire personnel training, the marshaller training, all of those areas we have identified through the data we have gathered, that data is helping us.
“When we have determined the numbers, we’ve looked at our budget, we’re in discussion with some of the stakeholders. We are making plans to fix these before we go into another set of audits, because we want to raise the bar. “We want to take our airports from medium to a high category rating.”
Despite the challenges, he said FAAN personnel will soon be outsourced by other African countries based on their competence.
Eniola said, “Our staff can compete favorably, helping other African nations. We have been invited to so many conferences and workshops where we have presented papers for the running of smart airports.”
He spoke on how FAAN can leverage partnerships with private and public organisations to boost the upgrade of airport infrastructure.
