President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday in Abuja sacked three top officials of parastatal agencies in the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
The sacking of the officials was contained in a statement signed by Ms Anne Ene-Ita, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry.
The sacked officials are Mr Richard
Aisuebeogun, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Alhaji Ibrahim Auyo, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) and Capt. Adebayo Araba, the Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria.
According to the statement, the sacking of the officials is in line with the Federal Government’s transformation agenda.
The statement quoted Ene-Ita as saying that the three officials had been directed to hand over to their successors.
The successors are Mr George Uriesi, Managing Director of FAAN, Mr Udo Nnamdi, Managing Director of NAMA and Capt. Chinyere Kalu, Rector of NCAT.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the aviation industry expressed mixed feelings on the removal of three chief executives of the parastatal agencies in the Ministry of Aviation.
Alhaji Muhammed Tukur, the Assistant Secretary of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), said that the changes were not surprising to him.
Tukur wondered why the ousted NAMA’s boss, Auyo, should have allowed himself to be sacked from office after he had long seen the writing on the wall.
Auyo recently returned from a medical trip abroad.
The Secretary-General, Nigerian Aviation Professionals Association (NAPA), Mr Abdulrasaq Seidu, said the Federal Government needed professionals that would help it to realise its reform agenda.
“A situation where appointments are made into the aviation industry not based on professional competence but on political patronage would not make any difference in the industry.
“Removal of chief executives is not new to the industry. Each time a new minister comes on board there would be change of baton in the parastatals.
“We have seen series of removals and replacement, especially in FAAN. But there has not been any improvement in the parastatals and service delivery in the aviation industry in general,’’ he said.
He said that until professionals, who are determined to work conscientiously, were appointed into sensitive positions as head of aviation parastatals, the sector would continue to have serious challenges.