Sen Hadi Sirika was appointed as the Minister of Aviation by President Muhammadu Buharire after rounding off his first tenure as the minister of state for aviation with Rotimi Amaechi as the then minister of transportation. Sirika’s emergence as the minister of aviation was no surprise to major players in the aviation sector because of his experience and track record in the aviation. During his inauguration in August last year the unions in the aviation sector welcomed the minister and expressed confidence in Sirika’s ability to uplift the sector and ensure its growth. Reeling out his promises to the aviation sector, Sirika assured of the implementation of the aviation road map and the moving of the industry to enviable heights.The minister promised to work with the union in the sector to position the industry to solve its challenges. Sirika promised that there would be an understanding between him and major players in the sector, including the unions, to drive growth and advancement in the sector.There were four promises that stood out in the roadmap of the minister for the aviation sector.These are: The establishment of a national carrier, the concession of four of the nation’s international airports, the establishment of the maintenance, repair and the ovehaul centre (MRO), and lastly, the establishment of the aviation leasing company, which is the aircraft leasing programme.
Subsequently, the minister promised the development of a cargo terminal, the development of an aerotropolis which is the airways city, and the latest promise which is the delivery of the N10bn Akanu Ibiam Enugu International Airport upgrade by 2020.The delivery of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport upgrade is a key area the minister has been scored high by key players in the aviation sector.The federal government on August 24, shut down the Enugu international airport for repairs and N10bn was released for that purpose. According to Sirika, most of the promises being made are targetted towards the ushering of a new dawn in the aviation industry.Most of these projects are, however, private sector driven as they are capital intensive. The actualisation of most of these projects are dependent on partnerships with the private sector and investments from foreign and local investors.The progress being made in the concession of the four international airports is another area the minister has been applauded. Although, there are several controversies around the concession the minister received recently, the outline business case certificate of compliance from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, for the concession of the airports by June 2020.Plans are now ongoing for the concession of the airports, which will result in revenue generation and the creation of more jobs in Nigeria. Despite the launching of the national carrier in London in 1998, the project met its waterloo when the minister announced its indefinite suspension.
The minister earlier announced that the national carrier is still a priority of the government. The national carrier, which is to replace the defunct Nigeria Airways, is yet to come through. This is attributed to lack of investors and technical partners.
Meanwhile, Sirika announced that the Air Nigeria project is still in the aviation road map and promised that it would be executed.The establishment of the aviation leasing company which is in incubation since the inception of the Buhari administration is still a dream. In February 2020, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Air and a consortium AJ Wavkers/Glovesly were shortlisted as bidders for the proposed leasing company and its MRO facility.Following the shortlisting of the three companies, a bidders conference took place during which the consortium of AJ Walkerr/Glovesly and Egypt Air were shortlisted for the aviation leasing company. At the same bidders conference, the consortium of AJ Walkers, Egypt Air and Ethiopian Air were shortlisted to handle the MRO facility. Identifying the need for an MRO, many stakeholders in the industry applauded the move by the government as it would aid major aircraft maintenance and technological transfers, which will create more employment.The minister must be commended for making sure that the potential for the private sector involvement in airport renovation and ownership is achieved. During his second term, there has been modest investment by the government to develop the aviation sector.
In terms of airports terminal buildings, Nigeria had to source some funding through an import-export bank loan facility to rebuild terminals for four airports.This term, his efforts have made entrepreneurs find there is huge potential for investments in the aviation sector in Nigeria, especially in infrastructure which includes terminal buildings, runways, communications and nagivation equipment and security systems.This step has made the entire sector now greenfield, waiting for suitable investors to come in. Airfares in Nigeria are high compared to other emerging markets before Sirika came on board. From regulatory and policy perspectives, he has been doing all he can to make fares fall through competitions, which is the whole idea behind his roadmap and quest for the creation of a national carrier that is about to take off.This way he can leverage all the bilateral agreements between Nigeria and other nations that will be bringing in the planes.Today, it is noteworthy, that Emirates Air flies to Nigeria 21 times a week and British Air has a similar number of fiights into Nigeria. Sirika believes if we create an entity that has the capacity to leaverage those 21 flights and offer better service then that will force other airlines to bring down their fares and i support him. The second factor he has worked on is to seek the government to either fund or allow the NNPC to fund investors to refine jet fuel here to bring down costs. Jet fuels account for 40 percent of operating costs of an airline and when it goes up, so do ticket prices. Furthermore, the more an airline does business with Nigeria and increases traffic on a certain route, the more passengers it has and the more the airline can afford to bring down the prices of tickets.
This, Sirika has my support.Simply put, the minister has an ambition for the national carrier and he has set for himself an achievable timeline. Thank you, Hadi Sirika. Work on.Wada writes from Abuja via [email protected]
