November 21, (THEWILL) – In recent times, some Nigerian airports have been in the news for issues that have to do with security lapses. These lapses include runway encroachment, pilfering, touting, loitering and extortion, among other vices that are contrary to international best practices. Beyond being a threat to security and safety of lives and property, such practices have also undermined the purpose of Ease of Doing Business being promoted by the Federal Government.
For this reason, the House of Representatives is considering a major reform of the nation’s international airports in support of the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) initiative that will usher in a single security screening point for arriving and departing passengers. This followed the outcome of meeting between the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and the House Committee on Aviation, the Committee Chairmen on Health and Agric Services, as well as other relevant committee chairmen, which also included the leaders of all the agencies operating at the airports and the Special Adviser to the President on the Ease of Doing Business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole.
At the end of the crucial interaction, which lasted several hours, Gbajabiamila, based on the contributions from the stakeholders on how to achieve international best practices, urged the Chairman of the Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji and the chairmen of other relevant committees, to work with the heads of the aviation agencies to come up within two weeks a Bill that would ensure a single security outfit similar to Transport Security Administration ( TSA) in the United States of America that would take charge of security at the airports.
He also said that the menace of touting and extortion at the airports must be tackled squarely with more stringent measures, adding that the problems remained unabated because there were no severe consequences.
The Speaker stressed that traveling through the airports must be made as seamless as possible, noting that the level of stress and discomfort, which travellers undergo t at the nation’s prime gateways must be eliminated.
“Our airports must give travellers the comfort they deserve, the facilities must work” he added, noting that the situation must change forthwith.
Nnaji had also noted that the Federal Government’s intervention was needed urgently to help FAAN fix the aging infrastructure at the various airports, especially the Lagos and Abuja airports, which are the major gateways.
Nnaji’s appeal was sequel to a previous explanation by the FAAN Managing Director, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, that the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, which is over 43 years-old required a total overhaul because all the facilities had been overstretched beyond their life span. He also disclosed that the airport generates 70 percent of the authority’s total annual revenue.
Also in her comments, Dr Oduwole expressed her appreciation to the leadership of the House of Representatives and Nnaji for the initiative, adding that the situation at the nation’s prime gateways was a huge embarrassment to the country.
She shared the views of Nnaji that the kind of image some of the officials at the airports present to the nation could not in any way promote the philosophy behind the Ease of Doing Business, stressing that such was capable of scaring foreign investors.
The Speaker had directed Hon. Nnaji to invite the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Captain Rabiu Yadudu, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu and the leaderships of all the agencies involved in the facilitation of passengers and goods at the airports, including Oduwole, to discuss the issues of touting and extortions at the airports.
Gbajabiamila, who expressed his displeasure with what he described as viral videos circulating on social media about the ugly scenes at Nigeria’s International Airports, said he had to ask Nnaji to call for the meeting in order to discuss how such a national embarrassment could be arrested forthwith.
The agencies invited for the meeting were, the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Immigration Services, (NIS), the Nigeria Customs, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control, (NCDC), the Port Health, the Plant Quarantine Services among others.
Some of the major agencies, including the Police, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) and the Customs Service, however, did not attend the meeting which was held on November 17, 2021 at the House Conference Room 028 in the afternoon.
The Speaker, who was not happy with the absence of those agencies, however, declared that their absence would not slow down the process of changing the ugly situation at the airports.
The Aviation Committee Chairman, Hon. Nnaji on behalf of all other chairmen and members present at the meeting thanked the Speaker for his patriotic zeal and timely intervention on issues that have to do with the progress of the country.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
