The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Hadi Sirika

  • FG approves additional N1.57 billion for Port Harcourt airport

    FG approves additional N1.57 billion for Port Harcourt airport


    …To appoint national carrier transaction adviser by Wednesday

    …CBN pays $300 million to airlines

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved additional N1.57 billion for rehabilitation and refurbishment of Port Harcourt airport.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.

    According to him, FEC approved the rehabilitation cost of the international wing of the airport from N777,726,669.30 to N1,684,520,310.58 for the original contractor Messes Entaba.

    The second project, he said, is the refurbishment of the airport terminal building phase II domestic wing from N746,830,782.12 to N1,411,662,855.67

    He said: “Also FEC approves the revised total estimate cost of finishing Port Harcourt Airport both domestic and international wing. So FEC approves the project as it is captured in the 2016 and 2017 budget.

    “So very soon we will complete that very important airport especially the arrival. Port Harcourt airport has been tagged the worst airport in the world but by the grace of God and the wisdom of council, it will be completed.” He added

    He also said that FEC approved the ratification of climate change Paris agreement, bilateral agreement against double taxation with Kenya.

    He said that there would be improved security and more parking spaces at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja once its concession is completed.

    He said: “Issue of security is of paramount importance to us, you will notice that there is more security when going into the airport than when coming out. That doesn’t mean there is no security coming out of the airport, the presence does not deter in the readiness to challenge security.

    “However among the number of challenges we are addressing as a government is security and safety, so that is being addressed as a government.

    “By the end of November we are going to have stakeholders meeting and some of these things will be shown there.

    “The issue of parking space at the airport, this is part of the plan of the Abuja airport, you must have noticed some portion have been cleared. By the time it is completed, we would have a proper parking space which you will go and park for a fee.

    “Once the airport is concessioned, all these will take sharp. Just be patient in the next 24 to 36 months most of these things will be in place.

    He disclosed that the CBN has made available $300 million out of the $600 million of the airlines funds stock in Nigeria to pay the airlines, demonstrating its commitment to the sector.

    The government, he said, has been talking to change airlines like Egypt Air, British Airways, Turkish Air which fly in Nigeria with undesirable aircrafts while they put better aircraft on other routes

    “However, some of them are constrained by some of the infrastructure we have in place for example Emirate. Emirate will love to bring the kind of aircraft they fly around the world but the apron in Abuja is not supporting that service. That is why the aircraft they take to Lagos is different from the one they take to Abuja.

    “That inadequacies is also being addressed and once that is done we will have befitting aircraft coming. This has always been a challenge.

    Speaking on the foreign carriers that are threatening to leave Nigeria, he said: “I think it is a response to how the industry is doing globally specially Nigeria with recession, our inability to get the airlines to repatriate in their currency that they earn through sales of tickets.

    “They find it very difficult to operate and do business. Also their inability to get Jet A1 at some point and other operational reasons. I did say that these are commercial decisions that the airlines will take but with the way the routes are and will what we have been doing to correct these things that any airline will pull out.

    “A 100 per cent of foreign exchange being required by local airlines is being provided now. The aviation is dollar denominated, you buy air craft in dollar, you service in dollar, you train your crew in dollar, you do every thing in dollar. And we simply do not have the dollar to pay these airlines. But now as we are talking, government through the CBN has made available $300 million out of the $600 million of the airlines funds stock in nigeria to pay the airlines to demonstrate its commitment to the sector.

    “And with devaluation $600 million could be $1 billion. With government intervention they have been given $300 million gradually we will clear everything and once that happen they are not going to go anywhere.

    “Nigeria has population of 177 million serving west and central Africa, 600 million people market, double that of US, half India, equal to Europe so this is a very important market and they know and they will stay here. I believe we are also offering them incentives.

    “But the most important incentive is that between now and Wednesday we will appoint transaction adviser for national carrier, once that is in place Nigerians will have options, there will be competition, good aircraft and this will bring the price down.” He stated

  • Arrest of judges, not wrong – Minister

    Arrest of judges, not wrong – Minister

    • Says Govt has right to search anybody, anywhere, anytime
    • FEC okays N700 million for Federal secretariats in six states

    The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Wednesday said there was nothing wrong in stepping on judges’ toes in the fight against corruption.

    It would be recalled that the Department of State Services (DSS) had last weekend stormed the houses of some judges, arrested them and recovered the huge sum of money in different denominations.

    But briefing State House correspondents at the end of Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by President Mohammadu Buhari, Mohammed said that there was nothing wrong with the method adopted by the DSS.

    Mohammed was accompanied by the Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

    While stressing that governors who have immunity are still open to investigation, he said that judges don’t even have immunity.

    He said: “What the government is concerned and passionate about is to fight corruption. In the process of fighting corruption, it is not unusual that you step on some very sensitive toes but the question to ask and I think these has been adequately answered by the Attorney General is that let’s remove emotion from facts.

    “One, do judges have immunity? The answer is no. Can judges be arrested? The answer is yes. Have judges that are serving been arrested in Nigeria? The answer is yes. Justice Okoli had been arrested and tried.

    “Now the next question to ask is what is the proper procedure for arresting anybody including judges? There must be properly executing of the search warrant. Was such presented? The answer again is yes. People have tried to muddle the facts about when do you search the person’s house, the truth of the matter is that under the new criminal justice law, you can search anybody, anywhere, anytime.

    “Again they have tried to muddle issues by trying to say that the NJC is the only authority that can attend complain and discipline, the answer once again is no,” he added.
    He pointed out that there is a difference between what is happening to the judges now and when a judge is accused of professional misconduct.

    “If you suspect anybody including Governors who have immunity they are still subject to investigations.” He said

    The government, he said, has the highest respect for the judiciary and does not intend to ridicule the judiciary.

    “We are not painting the whole of the judges with the same brush but we also have a duty to fight corruption at whatever level and in doing so, we will do so within the ambit of the law.” He said

    The Minister expressed displeasure that some people have started raising issues that are completely irrelevant to the matter.

    He said: “Some people are saying oh, the reason why they went to some particular judges house is because the President wants somebody from one part of the country to be Chief Justice of Nigeria. I think that is preposterous.

    “I want to assure you that this government has no intention to humiliate the judiciary and for those who are talking about separation of power, I think you are stretching it too far. I and members of the Executive, I can be invited by any arm of the government and I will go. So I think we should situate this thing in the right perspective.” He added

    He recalled when 22 out of 32 judges in Ghana, who were caught on tape by journalists asking for a bribe, were dismissed in 2015.

    He added: “Yes it’s true that what is happening today has probably never happened at this level before but frankly speaking and with all due respect we do not intend to humiliate any judge, we have no intention to humiliate the judiciary but believe me what we have done we have done within the ambits of the law.

    “I think the Federal Government is being very careful with handling of this particular issue, I want to state clearly that this government believes very much in separation of powers, this government has a lot of respect for the judiciary and for obvious reasons, not just because the constitution says so but I think probably this is one cabinet that has the highest number of lawyers as ministers.

    “As at the last count about eleven or twelve council members are lawyers and we have female lawyers also in the cabinet until death robbed us of late Ocholi we had five SANs in our cabinet and I think this is unique, therefore you can understand the kind of respect we have for the judiciary.”

    He also pointed out that the President himself, who sought to be President four times and had it thwarted three times, took his case to court on the three occasions.

    “He took his case to the judiciary, so I can say clearly that this administration has a lot of respect for the judiciary and I think I stand by what Mallam Garba Shehu said that please do not confuse the fight against corruption as a fight against judiciary,” he added

    Fashola disclosed that the FEC approved N700 million for the completion of abandoned Federal secretariats in Anambra, Bayelsa, Gombe, Nasarawa, Osun and Zamfara states.

    According to him, the fund for the completion of the secretariat projects, which were abandoned since 2012, were captured in the 2016 budget.

    He said when completed, the projects would provide office accommodation to Federal Government staff deployed to the affected states.

    “They are at various stages of completion. There have been changes in cost as a result of project designs, amendment, cases where original location and contract are changed and they have to be redesigned in such structure,’’ he said

    He said that the second memo approved by FEC from the ministry has to do with ongoing projects for the construction of the abandoned 10 megawatts Wind Farm power project in Katsina state.

    According to him, the wind farm project is part of government’s strategic plan for  renewable energy.

    He added that the project was a major component of the government’s road map towards achieving incremental power in the country.

    Fashola  noted that the contract cost of the power project escalated following the kidnapping of the contractor, who after being rescued abandoned the  project.

    Sirika said that the council approved an outline Business case for Industrial Port Development in Badagry, Lagos State.

    According to him, the Council also approved the relocation of flight training simulator from Lagos to Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria in Kaduna state, for the training of pilots and engineers.

  • FG to appoint adviser for airport concession – Minister

    The Federal Government on Wednesday said it has concluded arrangement to appoint a Transaction Adviser for the concession of the big four airports in the country.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, disclosed this during an inspection tour at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday.

    Sirika said the government would concession the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; Abuja and Port Harcourt International Airports.

    He said government would go ahead with the concession of the airports through Public -Private -Partnership, adding that the asset will ultimately come back to Nigerians.

    “This will take time because we have to respond to law and due process and the government is in the process of appointing a Transaction Adviser for the exercise.

    “We have already been to Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and they have posted a staff to us. They are also partnering with us to see that we have a very smooth activity.

    “The Transaction Adviser would be the one to guide the process and I am sure that government will not hesitate to give us the liberty that is critical in the appointment,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the minister as saying on the matter.

  • Minister to shut Abuja airport

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Monday threatened to close down the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

    The minister said he feels sad whenever he talks about the aviation sector in Nigeria.

    Sirika spoke during the presentation of vision and plan of the aviation sector to stakeholders in Abuja.

    Defending the planned closure, the minister showed images of the Abuja airport runway which was characterised by potholes.

    “The infrastructures at the airports are dilapidated and I was tempted this morning to close down the airport and I will probably do that for sure.”

    He added that the government is considering concessioning of the airports and will start that process with the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano airports.

     

     

     

  • FG orders probe of unauthorised use of equipment by Aero Contractors

    FG orders probe of unauthorised use of equipment by Aero Contractors

    Senator Hadi Sirika, Minister of State for Aviation, has directed immediate investigation into the use of unauthorized equipment by Aero Contractors Airlines charter flight to Bauchi Airport on Saturday.

    The order is contained in a statement signed by Mr James Odaudu, the Deputy Director, Press and Public Affairs Unit of the ministry on Sunday in Abuja.

    The statement said that several reports received by the minister indicated that the airline used a ladder to disembark passengers from a Boeing 737 aircraft at the airport.

    According to the minister, the act is inconsistent with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS).

    The investigation, according to the statement, will determine the immediate and remote causes of the incident.

    It added that the investigation was with a view to developing and implementing measures that would prevent a reccurrence of the unsafe and unacceptable procedure that exposed passengers to high risk.

    The statement said that if the airline was found culpable, the full weight of sanctions within extant laws and regulations would be applied on it.

    “The Honourable Minister assures the travelling public that the Ministry of Transportation, in collaboration with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), will ensure strict adherence to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations as well as ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices by all operators.

    “Sirika further states that the ministry will not shirk in its responsibility to ensure a safe and secure air transport services which he views as sacrosanct,” the statement said.