N’assembly committee asks Sirika to halt demolition of aviation agencies’ buildings in Lagos

The national assembly joint committee on aviation, on Wednesday, directed Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, to halt the planned demolition of the offices of aviation agencies in Lagos.

The directive, according to NAN, is contained in a letter to the minister and jointly signed by Franca Mbah, clerk, senate committee on aviation, and Bassey Edem, her house of representatives counterpart.

The committee stated that the directive was the fallout of the two-day warning strike embarked upon by aviation workers’ unions.

The joint committee said it was working to ensure a peaceful resolution of the issues in contention.

The panel asked the minister to stop the planned demolition of the aviation agencies’ headquarters and offices in Lagos, pending the outcome of the committee’s intervention.

The committee also said it was deeply worried by the rampant cases of strike actions by workers in the aviation industry with attendant disruption of flight operations, citizens’ movements, economic paralysis and grave security implications.

“The strikes have become too many and too frequent to be let low even though the issues in contention are not new,” the letter reads.

“Some have lingered for over eight years with several agreements signed between the unions and the government.

“These include non-implementation of the consequential adjustment to the national minimum wage by some of the agencies as agreed as in February 2022.

“They also include non-release of reviewed conditions of service by relevant government agencies for upward of a decade.

“Another issue is continuous threats of demolition of aviation agencies: (FAAN, NCAA and NAMA) headquarters in Lagos without making reasonable provisions for befitting regional offices in Lagos being the nation’s aviation hub.”

Therefore, the committee asked Sirika to provide comprehensive details on all issues under contention.

The group also requested to be informed of actions taken by the ministry and its agencies to address the grievances of aviation staff and their unions.

TheCable had reported that aviation workers embarked on a warning strike in Lagos on Monday, in protest of unpalatable working conditions.

Part of their demands was suspension plans by the minister to demolish aviation agency offices to pave way for a proposed airport city.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum last year, Sirika had insisted that the demolition of the buildings would go on as planned.