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Tag: Senator Hadi Sirika

  • Airport upgrade: Hope rises for Edo agro-business

    In a few months’ time, exporters of agricultural products in Edo State and its environs would not need to bother about delays in travelling to Lagos for the purpose of taking their products to any part of the world.

    They would export their agro-products right from the Bénin Airport. Besides, businessmen, politicians and individuals can now land at the Bénin Airport any time of the day. This is because the airport has commenced night operations.

    In 2013, during the inauguration of the remodeled Bénin Airport, former Governor Adams Oshiomhole requested the then Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah to ensure that the Airport operates in a 24-hour basis.

    Oshiomhole had argued that the 24-hour operation for the airport would enable individuals, especially himself, meet emergency engagement in Abuja. He regretted that the Benin Airport being one of the oldest in the country remained the way it was despite the increase in traffic.

    Oshiomhole’s successor, Godwin Obaseki has, however, seen to the realisation of his dream. Facilities in the 63-year-old Bénin Airport has been upgraded for it to carry out night operations. The equipment installed for the night operations were inaugurated last week by the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

    The equipment inaugurated at the Airport included thunder and lightning system, Secure Aviation Data Information System (SADIS); Enhanced Simple Approach Lightening System, CAT ll and Instrument Landing System (ILS)/Distance Measuring Equipment (DME).

    Speaking at the inauguration, Senator Sirika said Edo people would gain a lot from the improved operational capability of the Bénin Airport because of the ability to come and go out of Bénin by air in reduced weather condition even when the pilot can barely see anything.

    Senator Sirika further explained that the equipment are both ground-based and satellite-based. He said the satellite-based equipment would begin work if the ground-based ones failed.

    He said: “The importance of the Benin culture and history is such that we cannot ignore. We will continue to upgrade facilities to meet its peers in other cities. The operational capacity of the Benin-City Airport has tremendously improved as we can now guarantee safe landing in reduced visibility and in bad weather condition. Aircraft can now land in Benin Airport at night. No more closure of the Airport by 6:00 p.m.

  • Nigeria Air: PDP demands Minister’s arrest

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has demanded for the arrest and immediate prosecution of the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

    A statement on Thursday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan accused the Minister of using a non-existent national carrier to defraud the nation to the tune of N1.2 billion.

    The government had on Wednesday announced the indefinite suspension of Nigeria Air, which was launched in London, United Kingdom, by the Minister in July

    The party charged President Muhammadu Buhari to speak out on the matter, alleging that funds released for the moribund project were diverted to finance his 2019 re-election bid.

    It described the indefinite suspension of the project as part of the “fraudulent script” by the Presidency, adding that the project never existed in the first place.

    The statement said, “It would be recalled that the PDP had in July alerted the nation that the unveiling of a non existent national carrier was a huge scam designed to create an impression of achievement, as well as a conduit by corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and the Buhari Presidency to siphon public funds for selfish purposes.

    “Nigerians now know that the reason for the rush to London to ‘unveil’ mere drawings of airplanes, name, logo and imaginary routes of a non-existent fleet as our national carrier, without any structures, operational license, clear partnership agreements and no form of ground activity any where in our country.

    “What the APC and the Buhari Presidency failed to understand is that lies, no matter how ornamented, always have their expiring dates. The truth may be suppressed for a while, but it always has a way of coming to light.

    “It is now clear to the world that the Buhari administration is corrupt and lacks the capacity to productively engage against acts of corruption. This is the major reason our economy went into a recession and foreign investors have lost confidence in our nation”.

    The main opposition party demanded that the N1.2 billion said to have been invested in the project be immediately recovered and directed to critical interventions in the aviation sector, including the unpaid pension owed to retired aviation workers.

    The party counseled the APC and the Presidency to know that Nigerians could see through their alleged corruption and lies for which they will deal them a humiliating verdict at the polls, come 2019.

  • Breaking: FG unveils name, livery for National Carrier 

    The Federal Government has unveiled the name and livery for the national carrier that would be launched at the end of this year.

    The name; ‘Nigeria Air’ was unveiled by the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.

    The event had in attendance, stakeholders, aircraft manufacturers, prospective investors and Nigerian government delegation including the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Transportation, Sabiu Zakari.

    Others who were in attendance include; Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation Senator Adamu Aliero, and Chairperson, House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.

    Read Also:National Carrier: Sirika meets aircraft manufacturers investors in UK

    According to a statement by the Deputy Director, Media and Public Affairs of the ministry, James Odaudu, the government came up with the name after it engaged over 400,000 people on social media.

    Speaking after the unveiling, Sirika, said: “I am very pleased to tell you that we are finally on track to launching a new national flag carrier for our country: Nigeria Air.

    “We are all fully committed to fulfilling the campaign promise made by our President, Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.  We are aiming to launch Nigeria Air by the end of this year.

    “I want to personally thank our Transaction Advisers, led by AMG, and the special Task Force, who have worked diligently to achieve the results so far and overcome the challenges involved.

    “We obtained the Certificate of Compliance from the Nigerian Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) two weeks ago and can now go into the investor search. I am confident that we will have a well-run national flag carrier, a global player, compliant to international safety standards, one which has the customer at its heart.

    “We hope to establish an airline that communicates the essence of our beautiful country, an airline we can all be proud of”, he said.

    On how it came up with thr name and livery for the carrier, the minister said: “Following extensive market research, the branding of our new airline, Nigeria Air, demonstrates a true flag carrier of our nation, soaring through the skies in the shape of our nation’s eagle.”

    “The branding and naming of the new national carrier comes on the back of a social media campaign undertaken under the auspices of The Ministry of Transportation (Aviation) which invited Nigerian youth and students for their input and creativity to come up with a name for the new Nigerian flag carrier.

    “The Facebook page and websitenameyourairlinenigeria engaged over 400,000 people up until the deadline for submissions, which was on 25th June 2018.

    “In addition, detailed and extensive market research was commissioned by the Ministry of Transportation (Aviation), which involved focus groups across Nigeria and over 100 interviews with aviation stakeholders and professionals, politicians, Nigerian business owners, students and a broad spectrum of people across Nigeria.”

    He said the research concluded that Nigeria is a proud nation with diverse populace, a strong cultural heritage and a people that are hungry for a unifying national flag carrier.

    Sirika also said that the Nigerian Government will support the launch of the new flag carrier with viability gap funding, in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to deliver a national flag carrier, guided by the international ICAO standards that will stand the IOSA audit from the start, and lead to a fast IATA membership for international operation.

    He assured Nigerians and the international community that government had learnt a lot of lessons from the experience of the defunct Nigeria Airways, and now determined not to repeat the mistakes that led to its demise.

    This, he said, informed the decision to take the Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach.

    The Minister also explained that the unveiling of the airline at the Farnborough International Airshow was cognisant of the fact that being the largest congregation of global aviation industry players, the event affords the best opportunity to market the airline to prospective investors and register it in the minds of all stakeholders ahead of its formal launch billed to take place in Abuja before the end of the year.

    He also the Ministry was also currently running an aviation road map that includes airport concessions, Aerotropolis, an aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Center, agro allied terminals, the National Carrier and an aircraft leasing company.

  • Senate summons Sirika, others over air mishaps

    Senate summons Sirika, others over air mishaps

    The Senate Tuesday resolved to invite Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, to brief it on steps taken by his ministry to minimize air mishaps in the country.

    Apart from Sirika, who is mandated appear before the Senate in plenary, the upper chamber also invited heads of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and every other relevant agency in the aviation industry to give a full briefing on the steps that have been taken to minimise human errors and avoid preventable air crashes.

    The resolution followed the adoption of a motion on “The need to minimize the possibility of Air Mishaps and Near Fatalities in Nigeria,” sponsored by Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East) and eight others.

    Ashafa in his lead debate prayed the Senate to observe that on the 20th of February, 2018 the story of a near fatal incident involving Dana Airlines with number 9J0363 hit the news waves.

    He noted that it was reported that the aircraft overshot the runway upon landing at the Port Harcourt Airport, on a flight from Abuja.

    He said that the incident was attributed to the wet surface of the runway

    Ashafa recalled that “just a few weeks before the afore stated event, there was also panic on Wednesday, 7th of February, 2018, when the emergency door of an aircraft conveying passengers to Abuja fell off upon landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe, International Airport in Abuja.”

    The Lagos East lawmaker said that he is aware that while the said aircraft was cleared to return to service on the same day by the relevant authorities the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), “an experienced pilot interviewed was of the opinion that the aircraft might have experienced a component failure.”

    He noted that report quoted the pilot to have said “What happened is likely to be a component failure due to hand landing. It couldn’t have fallen off when the aircraft was airborne because the aircraft cabin is pressurised. It is very difficult for that to happen but it could fall off when the aircraft is on the ground”;

    He expressed concern that “these recent occurrences might be a sign of a sequence of human errors, caused by the failure of  officials and staff of the agencies saddled with the responsibility of guaranteeing safety to carry out their due diligence before issuing clearance for aircrafts to operate within the Nigerian airspace.”

    Ashafa further recalled with sadness that Nigeria has experienced a significant number of air catastrophes that cost the lives of hundreds of Nigerians, due to a range of causes including human and technical error.

    He said that a chronicle of air mishaps caused by human error as reported  an article titled: Human errors, dereliction of duty are major causes of plane crashes in Nigeria, stated as follows: ”Avoidable human errors and dereliction of duty by public officials working in the aviation sector have been major reasons for the loss of hundreds of lives in air crashes in Nigeria, reports by the Aviation Investigation Bureau (AIB) have shown.”

    The report, he said, stated further that:”Some of the human errors identified by AIB as causes of the plane crashes include non-lightening of runways and airfields, poorly constructed drainage culverts, inaccurate information by the control tower, lack of proper certification of radio operators and poor supervision of aircraft imported into the country.”

    He stated with concern that “it is against this backdrop that it has now become imperative to move with speed and  alacrity in order to ensure that all relevant agencies in the Aviation industry do their work with excellence and minimal human error in order to prevent avoidable loss of human lives.”

    All senators who contributed to the motion agreed that urgent steps should be taken to fix the aviation section in the interest of the flying public.

    Read Also: Senate seeks immediate end to NASU strike

  • FG begs foreign airlines over planned withdrawal of operation

    FG begs foreign airlines over planned withdrawal of operation

    The Federal Government has urged Emirate airline and other foreign airlines operating in Nigeria not to withdraw their services.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika who made the plea in Abuja during a visit by West African Regional manager for Emirates Airlines, Manoj Gopi Nair noted that the challenges confronting the aviation sector would be resolved soon.

    Emirate however attributed its decision to scale down operation to poor access to Foreign Exchange for its operations, high cost of aviation fuel and the state of the Abuja Airport runway.

    The Minister however urged the airlines to consider the adverse effect the decision would have on their customers.

    According to a statement in Abuja yesterday by the Deputy Director of Press of the Ministry, James Odaudu: “the minister has appealed to the Management of Emirates and other airlines to reconsider their decisions to either suspend their operations or scale them down, considering the adverse effects on their long-standing costumers and the benefits they had reaped in the past.

    According to statement: “Government is not unaware of the issues that have created operational difficulties for both domestic and foreign airlines, such as Foreign Exchange, Aviation fuel and infrastructural deficiencies and the government has been up and doing to ensure the creation of an environment that is both enabling and profitable for all airlines to operate.

    On infrastructural deficiencies which include the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, runway, the Minister said the government was already handling the issue, noting that the long-term solution was to concession the major airports.

    On the issue of aviation fuel which had earlier threatened to cripple the industry in the recent past, Sirika said the situation is almost normalized as a result of government intervention that has made it easier for importers to bring in the product.

    Earlier, Nair told the Minister that he was in his office to brief him on the decision of the Emirates Management to scale down its operations in Nigeria, with the suspension of operations from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    Giving reason for the decision, Nair explained that it was because of its inability to make ends meet in view of the difficulties in accessing Foreign Exchange for its operations, high cost of aviation fuel and the state of the Abuja Airport runway.

    Reacting to the minister’s plea, he promised to relay the appeal and official commitment to address the issues to the Emirates Management for a possible reconsideration of the decision.

     

  • Airport concession: FAAN pensioners challenge aviation minister

    Airport concession: FAAN pensioners challenge aviation minister

    The National Union of Pensioners (NUP) FAAN Branch has challenged the Minister of State (Aviation), Senator Hadi Sirika to make public the blueprint of the proposed concession of the four viable international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.

    The challenge was contained in a statement jointly signed by the national chairman of the branch, Comrade Rasaki Ope and administrative secretary, Comrade Emeka Njoku.

    They said making the blueprint public because of the security implications of exposing the airports to private sector management.

    They also faulted some of the reasons given by the minister for the concession of the airports, adding that officials of the airport authority have the past managed the facility profitably.

    They specifically demanded: “Let the minister bring out the blueprint of all those he wants to concession our sovereignty to, so that the security  agents can investigate their activities.

    “We have listened attentively to his proposal to concession the four viable airports without any recourse to some vital issues which are of of concern to this nation.”

    They urged the minister to exercise caution in preparing the airports for concession without serious consideration for national security.

    The statement reads: “In our recent position, we mentioned about security and we also said airports that airports are not primarily built to make profits, but to link this nation with other countries in the world, therefore it should be guided with all necessary machinery.

    “We posit that, at present the Chinese are still constructing and expanding international airports, which the Minister want to concede them to foreigners. This is a clear case of colonisation.

    “He mentioned the lack of management performance. If he feels the present management of FAAN is not competent, he should bring good hands  to manage the airports. If he lacks appointment clue, we can help him select competent hands.

    “We want to posit that these four airports were being managed by Nigerians over the years and it was graded category A and not managed by foreigners, so why should we concede them now.”

  • Domestic operators forward challenges to government

    • As Minister assures of access to foreign exchange

    Domestic operators under the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), on Thursday listed challenges affecting their business to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

    The challenges, according to the  its Chairman, Captain Nogie Meggison  include; constraints of access to  foreign exchange; availability, pricing and distribution of aviation fuel; taxes on importation of aircraft  and its spare parts; multiple taxes; obsolete airport and air navigation infrastructure as well as hurdles associated with 24 hours Customs clearance for aircraft spares on the ground.

    The operators said it has become  imperative to address these issues to ensure the survival of the business, even as they met  held a meeting with Sirika in Abuja on how the government  could resolve the myriad of challenges in the sector.

    In a paper titled: “Airline Of Nigeria Critical Points To the Minister Of State Aviation,” Meggison, said they decided to draw  the problems to the government’s attention before they  embark on any action  that could paralyse the economy.

    Meggison said the meeting with Sirika in Abuja became imperative as domestic carriers could  no longer cope with the challenges threatening their investment in the sector.

    Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has pledged his commitment to work closely with Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and has taken bold steps to address the challenges being faced by domestic airlines in the country. Sirika made the commitment when he metwith members of AON on Monday June 6, 2016 to discuss their concerns and highlight the many challenges affecting their businesses which bother on safe flight operations.

    Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has pledged his commitment to work closely with Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and has taken bold steps to address the challenges being faced by domestic airlines in the country. Sirika made the commitment when he met with members of AON on Monday June 6, 2016 to discuss their concerns and highlight the many challenges affecting their businesses which bother on safe flight operations.

    The Minister assured operators that he was not oblivious of their plight and challenges. “The players in the industry are known. Their challenges are also known, at least to me. And I am trying and working hard to drive this through government for government to understand them,” he said. “Our primary purpose in government and my duty.

    Meggison said: “There are five major challenges facing domestic airlines include constraints to foreign exchange (Forex) access; availability, pricing and distribution of Jet A1; Taxes on importation of aircraft and its spare parts as well as other multiple taxes including Value Added Tax ; obsolete infrastructure; upgrade of airport runways for 24 hours operations with navigational and landing aids; as well as 24hours customs clearance of spare parts for aircraft on ground (AOG) among others.”

    On the issue of Forex to domestic airlines, Sirika noted: “It’s common sense that you buy your airplane in hard currency, you maintain the airplane in hard currency, you buy the spares in hard currency, and even the fuel at some point is purchased in hard currency.

    So you must be able to access hard currency to operate as an airline.”

    As a way out of the problem, Sirika  led a delegation of AON members to the Central Bank, where its  Governor pledged to make available a window for domestic carriers to access foreign exchange.

    The CBN Governor therefore pledged to include aviation on the priority list in an effort to support domestic airlines’ safety and their operations.

    On the problem of aviation fuel, the Minister said he had met with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources who assured  that they would try to get Port Harcourt refinery on-stream before the end of the year to begin to refining of  Jet A1 otherwise known as aviation fuel.

    He assured that with some investment, the Kaduna Refinery will be back on-stream to make aviation fuel available.

    “We are committed to it, we will begin to produce it and if there is anything we can do to bring down the price we will do so. The whole essence of refining it locally is not only to make it available, but it will also make it cheaper. Because then the element of importation is removed,” Sirika assured.

    Concerning  direct distribution of Jet A1 to the airports, the Minister said government is working on alternate plans to ensure that aviation fuel supply is factored into the concession arrangement.

    “We can cause the concessionaire to ensure that the infrastructure is developed around those airports, especially that of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Kano,” he said.

    With regard to taxes on aircraft and spare parts, the Minister observed that while the Ministry of Finance holds the position that  there should be no duty on aircraft and spare parts, the Nigeria Customs thinks that the waiver is only on aircraft itself and not on the spares.

    To this end, the Minister  led a  3-man delegation from AON to visit the Comptroller General (CGC) of Customs to find a meeting point of getting a clear interpretation of the Importation Act, as a way of assisting domestic airlines.

    “It is the spares that we are more interested in because they are the consumables. The life of an airplane might consume in terms of price money more spares than the actual cost of the airplane; so it ought to be the two,” Sirika noted.

    The Customs  boss said he will  look  into the issue of a 24 hours clearance of spares for Aircraft on Ground (AOG).

    Commenting to a closer working relationship with AON, the Minister said; “Aviation will contribute to the creation of wealth and it is contributing at the moment. But the relationship between AON and us will ensure that the wealth is improved until the contribution of aviation has gone up significantly to 15 per cent  contribution to the GDP. This is something that we must agree on and something that we have to work together to achieve.”

  • Nigeria to begin aviation fuel production soon, says minister

    Nigeria to begin aviation fuel production soon, says minister

    To reduce the cost of aviation fuel, Nigeria will soon begin its production, Minister of State for Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika has said.

    Its  production, he noted, would also regularise its supply and lead to a reduction in air fares

    Sirika,who spoke at a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, said the government had approved duty waivers’ for importation of aircraft and spares to ensure the survival of domestic airlines

    The government, he said, was working on an aviation masterplan.

    The masterplan, Sirika said,would be incorporated into the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan ( NIIMP).

    He said without a sector master plan, it would be difficult for stakeholders to raise ideas or programmes that would be beneficial to the industry. According to him, stakeholders must live up to their responsibilities by demonstrating preparedness to take aviation higher. The minister  said government was concerned about aviation fuel challenges which,  he noted, were affecting the operations of  domestic carriers.

    Sirika said the Ministry of Aviation is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN), the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and that of Finance to include airlines on priority list of its foreign exchange allocation, stating that government has opened this window for domestic carriers because of the huge challenges faced  by operators who sell tickets in local currencies  and are expected to purchase aircraft spares and carry out maintenance  in foreign currencies.s

    He spoke of government’s plans   to set up an Aviation Development Fund, for industry entrepreneurs to get long-term funding at reasonable interest rates.

    He said access to capital at single digit for airline operators  will support growth and stability in the industry, saying that government is conscious of the need to protect indigenous operators and professionals, by ensuring that there is enforcement of expatriate quota system and policy review validation  of foreign licence.

    “Currently, there are lots of trained professional aviators especially pilots that are unemployed in Nigeria, while foreign aviation professionals are taking these jobs meant for Nigerians and are paid in foreign currency.”

    However, he said the problems of the sector are not without solution as government is planning to establish an Aviation Leasing Company to address issues bordering on limited  access to capital and high cost of funds, huge debt profile,  inadequate number of aircraft and high cost of leasing.

    He said the need to restructure the industry has become imperative in the face of ageing work force, dearth of professionals as well as unsustainable level of staffing .

    “We need to begin to address these issues by focusing on capacity building, staff verification and biometrics, review of people processes and technology, drive for leaner organisations for the agencies, agencies becoming self accounting for efficiency and review of acts setting up agencies to upscale governance and reduce overlap in functions,” he said.

    He canvassed for the establishment of a university that would produce the needed workforce for efficiency. He said:“This is driven by absence of high level management cadre, absence of research and development capacities to evolve long term plans and strategic vision for the industry.

    “This is to  be achieved with technical and manegement support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and some donor nations.This item will require legislation and government will provide the enabling enviroment .” The minister also spared a thought for  the huge cost of aircraft maintenance as well as absence of major aircraft repairs facility in Nigeria and West Africa.

    He said: “There is the need to create an enabling enviroment for the setting up of a world class  aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul facility that will attract clientele from all over the world especially Africa,” adding that the facility will further be encouraged to start manufacturing  airplane parts in the long term.