Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu has revealed that until the agency put in place necessary infrastructure to accommodate the arms, among others it will not deploy the weapons to it Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel.
Yadudu said while FAAN has received approval from the federal government, the programme has reached an advance stage even as a lot of works needed to be done in recruitment and profiling of such operatives.
The FAAN MD, who spoke on the sideline of the ongoing Nigerian Airports Security Week with theme: ‘Promoting Security Culture at Nigeria Airports’ said ‘’approval is the most important aspect of arming the security wing but FAAN is a government enterprise, we must follow due process and ensure a lot of accountability and transparency, as of now, we are at very advanced stage but as part our due diligence.’’
He explained that ‘’once we get the approval, we have to do a lot of works to make sure that by the time we give the arms, even when you get the arms, we prefer not deploy until we have all the necessary infrastructure on ground to accommodate the arms, the training, before you do the training, you have to get the people and even when you do get them, we have to do proper profiling, there are a lot of things done.’’
Meanwhile, a former Special Adviser to the President on Aviation, Captain Shehu Usman Iya has advised that government must consider as critical the welfare of security operatives at the airports in order to eliminate internal threat and sabotage and encourage patriotism and dedication.
