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Aviation

“It is not our responsibility to pay severance benefits to disengaged workers” SAHCO

Basil-Agboarumi-SAHCO-MD
—-says company does not inherit such liabilities
Eyewitness reporter
The management of  Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) has rejected the claims for the responsibility of the payment of disengaged benefits to the former staff of the company.
According to the press release by the organization, the company did not inherit such liability when it was being handed over to its new owners, Sifax Group.
It could be recalled that the 982 staff who were disengaged when the company, formerly owned by the defunct Nigerian Airways, was privatised, claimed they have waited for 11 years for their severance benefits from SAHCO which they alleged has refused to pay the accrued benefits of N 1.8 billion.
They, therefore, vowed to disrupt the operations of the ground handling companies in the 22 Airports of its operations if it fails to comply with their demand within one week.
However, SAHCO advised the aggrieved ex-workers to direct their aggression to the government.
The company in its explanation said “In  a meeting which had in attendance the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE) and the Chairman of SAHCO, BPE resolved that the benefits of the ex-staff of SAHCOL are to be borne by the Government, through the BPE and not SAHCO”
“The DG however promised to meet with the Union for further negotiations.
“It should be noted that SAHCO was officially listed as a PLC in 2018, and while BPE was handing over SAHCO to the Stock Exchange, these benefits were not part of the liabilities handed over. Hence, SAHCO is not responsible for the payment”
“The fortress of SAHCO has grown since Dr. Taiwo Afolabi bought SAHCOL from the  Federal Government with a huge influx of ultra-modern equipment, the building of the best warehouses in West Africa, massive employment of manpower and intense training which has made SAHCO a pride amongst one of the best organisation in Nigeria to work with”
“SAHCO has experienced an influx of choice Airline and Cargo clients from both Nigeria and abroad due to the intense improvement and adherence to global best practices.
“SAHCO who is an ISAGO and RA3  certified service provider also has a team of engineers who builds aviation ground support equipment from locally sourced equipment all in a bid to exceed customer expectations at all times.
“Recently, SAHCO celebrated her clients during the Customer Service Week with a raffle draw of choice gifts and letters of acknowledgment to show how much they mean to SAHCO.
“These gestures of gratitude were well received by the clients and they expressed their appreciation for the topmost aviation ground service which they are enjoying as SAHCO’s clients” the company declared in its statement.
The management of SACHO, therefore, refuted the claim that the company is in crisis due to the controversial severance benefits.
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Aviation

Keyamo approves relocation of FAAN back to Lagos ,says staying in Abuja is waste of public funds.

Keyamo
The Eyewitness Reporter
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has explained the reasons why he approved the relocation of the Headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria(FAAN) back to Lagos.
In a press statement signed Mrs. Obiageli Orah, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Keyamo explained that the initial relocation of FAAN headquarters from Lagos, from where it had been operating decades ago, was ill-advised which he said amounted to a waste of public funds.
The Minister further explained that those affected by the initial decision to move the agency’s headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there was no office space for them in Abuja.
“We have noted the inquiries some Nigerians have made regarding the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, to relocate the corporate Headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to its original base, Lagos, where it has operated for decades until recently.
“FAAN wishes to inform Nigerians that following wide consultations by the new Management of FAAN with stakeholders, which also involved the Unions, it was agreed that this was in the best interest of the Authority and the country for now for the following reasons:
“It was ill-advised in the first place to move the headquarters to Abuja when there was no single FAAN building in Abuja to accommodate all of them at once.
” Those affected by the initial decision to move the agency’s headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there is no office space for them in Abuja
“Having returned to Lagos, the Authority would be liable to pay them DTA (DUTY TOUR ALLOWANCE) because technically they are working OUT OF STATION as their official posting is to ABUJA.
“The Minister has decided to stop this waste of public resources and rip-off on the public purse.
⁠”The other option open to the Authority was abandon the old FAAN building in Lagos to rot away and to use its scarce resources to rent an office space in Abuja for Millions of Naira of public money when in actual fact more than sixty percent of its activities are in Lagos given the huge passenger volume of the Lagos airports.
“The stakeholders and the Minister decided against that and to save the country this waste.
“The Minister has rolled out plans to get concessionaires to build befitting offices for the Authority in Lagos and Abuja and until that is done, the Authority will continue to manage its old building in Lagos that can accommodate all its Directors and senior officials for now.
“⁠Abuja continues to have full operational offices and the Authority has not scaled down operations in Abuja one bit.
“It is just the technical decision of where the Authority has its ‘corporate headquarters’ that has been taken without affecting the structure of operations as they are for now in both cities.
” ⁠In the near future, when befitting corporate buildings have been built for the Authority in both Lagos and Abuja, a final decision will be taken as to the location of the permanent headquarters, depending on the exigencies of the time.
“The Authority wishes to assure members of the public that it will continue to act in the best interest of the public and the country.
“The Honourable Minister is committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of the country, especially as it concerns public funds and will not yield to ethnic or sectional sentiments that will derail this commitment”, the statement concluded.
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Aviation

News Alert! Pandemonium in Lagos as Helicopter explodes, crashes into building

The Eyewitness Reporter
Confusion and panic gripped the residents of Oba Akran area of Lagos when a Helicopter crashed into a resident building in the area.
According to an eyewitness at the scene of the incident, the helicopter crashed into a building located adjacent  AP filling station and United Bank of Africa (UBA) and exploded.
The incident, which happened around 3:00 pm Tuesday, caused pandemonium among the residents in the area who ran helter-skelter.
Sources said the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was immediately mobilised to the scene where four persons were rescued from the wreckage.

NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye who confirmed the crash, said rescue operations were ongoing.

He said details were still sketchy, adding that information would be provided as soon as they were available.

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Aviation

Sirika, former Aviation minister, ‘jets’ into DSS custody over Air Nigeria controversial project

Hadi Sirika
The Eyewitness Reporter
The Department of State Services (DSS) has caught up with Hadi Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation over the controversial Air Nigeria project.
The former Aviation minister was taken into the custody of the secret police for questioning on the national carrier project widely believed to be a scam.
He was said to have reported himself to the DSS office in Abuja Thursday in a Range Rover SUV after which he was reportedly grilled for several hours over the failed project.
Sirika had, at the twilight of his tenure, went through what was later discovered to be a charade when he launched the multi-million dollar national air carrier, Air Nigeria.
The lid on what has now been described as a scam ”launch” was blown open by the Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Captain Dapo Olumide, who admitted that the plane that was unveiled as Air Nigeria was a chartered aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines.
Olumide had told the stunned members of the Senate Committee on Aviation that the aircraft was leased from Ethiopian Airlines and merely used to unveil the Air Nigeria logo as the real Air Nigeria project was yet to be operational.
The plane that was unveiled was confirmed to be over 10 years old and had previously been operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Malawi Airlines.

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