The National Assembly has directed the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to halt the planned demolition of aviation agencies’ offices in Lagos. This directive comes following a two-day warning strike by aviation workers’ unions that disrupted flight operations across Nigeria on Monday and Tuesday.
The National Assembly Joint Committees on Aviation, led by Senator Christine Olujumi and Nnolim Nnaji, expressed concerns about the frequency of industrial actions and disruptions to flight operations in the country. The committees also noted that many of the issues causing agitation were longstanding.
The committees further directed the minister to provide all documents relating to the workers’ grievances, including the non-implementation of the minimum wage adjustment agreed upon in February 2022 and the non-release of reviewed conditions of service by relevant government agencies for a decade.
The committees stated that the threats of demolition without alternative provisions for regional offices of aviation agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency were unacceptable.
The chairmen of the committees of both chambers have also implored the unions to shelve any more actions that could further prevent the smooth running of the sector, promising that their grievances would be duly addressed soonest.