Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said that when it comes to aviation matters, everyone, including puff-puff sellers at the airport, has a say.
Keyamo disclosed this when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today to speak on Nigerian Civil Aviation Authorities’ action over the health status of Dana Airline on Thursday.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the NCAA suspended the Air Operator Certificate of Dana Airlines with immediate effect amidst safety concerns.
The airline suspension came less than 48 hours after an aircraft (MD82 with registration marks 5SN-BKI) with 83 passengers and crew members on board belonging to Dana Air experienced a runway incursion on Tuesday upon landing at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos from Abuja.
However, speaking on the criticisms that followed the suspension, Keyamo said he never wrote to the airline but instructed the NCAA to do so.
He added that if the aircraft in the country’s aviation sector are not properly checked, then there will be what he described as “flying coffins” in the air.
He said, “The last thing I want to do is deceive Nigerians about the state of health of commercial aircraft.
“There was an audit two years ago that confirmed the unhealthy status of Dana aircraft, and then at some points, something happened, and I said, go back and review it and see how thorough was that before I allowed them to fly again.
“The problem with this sector is that we have people who claim to be experts everywhere. Everybody is an aviation expert. People who have sold puff puff at the airport will tell you that they have been at the airport for a long time, so they are aviation experts.
“And I have challenged them over and over again since I came to office to come on TV if they have ideas and better ways to run the aviation sector and debate with me because what we have done since we came was to set clear priority areas for ourselves,.” Meanwhile, this is not the first time the minister has challenged some experts to a public debate on aviation matters.
On March 14, Keyamo visited France, where he toured the factory of the foremost aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, in Toulouse.
A video of Keyamo touring the factory had trended with some stakeholders saying Keyamo had turned himself to Airbus sales agent. But Keyamo fired back in a statement saying the Federal Government would go all out to facilitate seamless aircraft leasing for local operators.
He also bemoaned the criticism of the ‘experts’ whom he stated have not contributed anything to industry development.
Fielding questions on how he intends to curb the irregularities in the sector, Keyamo said there was deep complicity within the system and that the cleansing process will start and continue until they are resolved. “The cleansing process is within the system because you see regulators at times buying big houses and driving big cars. Regulators who are supposed to be public servants.
“They endanger the lives of Nigerians by cutting corners. Certain people, among them, falsify reports, checks, and training, among others.
“The commentaries by so-called aviation experts since yesterday is a system of corruption that we are fighting and we are going to bring it down within the sector. This sector is one of the most corrupt that I have seen because people bypass regulations,” he maintained.
