Air transport workers have sued Hadi Sirika, aviation
minister, and the Federal Airports Authority Of Nigeria (FAAN) over the planned
concession of four major airports in the country.
In the suit marked NICN/LA/68/2023 and filed before an
industrial court on Thursday, the plaintiffs are seeking to stop the concession
of Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; Port Harcourt International Airport,
Rivers state; Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos state and Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The claimants are the Air Transport Services Senior Staff
Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the National Union Of Air Transport Employees
(NUATE), the Association Of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), and the
Nigeria Union Of Pensioners (NUB- FAAN BRANCH).
They argued that the aviation minister and FAAN were not competent to concession the various airports without the consent and authority of the federal government, the 36 state governments, and the 774 Local government councils in Nigeria.
In their statement of facts, the unions said “the terminals
require no further investments for the envisaged period of the concession”.
“The scope of the concession to the surroundings of the
terminals, up to FAAN housing estates did not take the assets valuation into
account.
“The proposed
concession has not considered the very serious implication of handing such
important national security assets over to foreigners.
“The concession is
being undertaken by the ministry of aviation, and not by the 2nd defendant
(FAAN) which negates the Concession Act.”
They also claimed that the defendants arbitrarily fixed the
profit-sharing ratio (60:40) in favour of the concessionaire.
“The proposed concession of the nation’s international
airports has failed to address the payment of severance benefits to members of
the claimants along with pension arrears owed former and present staff of the
agency currently estimated at over N150 billion,” they said.
“The defendants have decided to determine the employment of
the claimants in utter breach of the federal airports’ authority’s reviewed
conditions of service, 2021 made pursuant to the Federal Airports Authority of
Nigeria Act.
“In order to resolve
the dispute concerning the proposed concession of the four international
airports, the claimants have held several meetings with the defendants but the
meetings did not achieve any result due to the recalcitrant attitude of the
defendants.”
Asides from seeking to stop the planned concession, the
claimants are also praying for “an order of injunction restraining the
defendants from determining the employment of the members of the claimants
without complying with the provisions of the Federal Airports Authority of
Nigeria Act (CAP F5) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and the Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria Reviewed Conditions of Service 2021 in any manner
whatsoever and howsoever”.
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