Extortion: FAAN collaborates with PEBEC to check indiscipline of airport staff
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), in collaboration with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), has organised a training program for leaders and frontline officers of major stakeholders at the airports.
The Authority said the training program was part of ongoing efforts to improve the quality of service delivery at the nation’s airports.
“The training program is aimed at continuous sensitization of the stakeholders and building capacity for airport personnel on the need to always give the best quality services possible to passengers and other airport users,” the authority said in a statement signed by its General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu.
Delivering his welcome address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of FAAN, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, enjoined participants to always display the highest level of discipline and professionalism in the line of duty.
According to him, airport officials were ambassadors of the nation and should see and conduct themselves in like manner.
Yadudu said,” In the light of all these videos, I called an emergency meeting and I said if this continues and nothing is done, it means, MD FAAN and other agency heads themselves they are sharing the money if there is money, they are sharing the benefits if there are benefits, if things are happening and there is no reaction then there is a problem, somebody is getting it.
“The action we are taking now is if you are caught, MMA will write to the headquarters FAAN and we will compile and every month we will submit for each agency, their list of violators and video clips or bank statement of the people that have been extorted or harassed or otherwise violated to their headquarters and copy the National Security Adviser (NSA) and copy PEBEC and copy the Minister of Aviation, that way agencies will be forcing themselves to say don’t embarrass us.
“We will enforce, discipline and we will not cover up; cover-up is the biggest cause of the issues. Agencies want to cover their own, FAAN wants to cover its own, stakeholders and airlines want to cover that is why people who are doing minimal violations graduate, overtime and become emboldened. And others that are not doing it see that there is no advantage because the others have more money and more privileges and so they join.”
“In our own FAAN, among the people we caught, he is an AVSEC after we initiate his ban from airports permanently across Nigeria, you cannot work in any airport in Nigeria the agency has to replace you, and it is a black mark. If we identify any bad egg, we will ban him for life take his ODC and nothing will happen. So is it worth it? Must it go to that length? No.
“Right now I have six people reported and submitted to me on Friday, different agencies, some are even collecting money and put it in the passport and then take it to another, the officer will look at it remove the money and give them back, I’m saying it now but we don’t want to be catching Nigerians.
He noted that the Federal Government was taking seriously issues of extortion and corruption at the nation’s airports, and any official caught perpetuating any untoward act will henceforth be apprehended and sanctioned accordingly.
Yadudu reminded participants that as heads of their various agencies, they were expected to take the message back to their personnel in the interest of the nation.
In her remarks, the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr (Mrs) Jumoke Oduwole, noted that inefficiency and corruption were the banes of socio-economic development in the nation.
She charged participants to shun indiscipline, corruption, and extortion; as such acts were capable of tarnishing the image of the nation.
Dr Oduwole encouraged participants to embrace ethical behaviours, personal values, and pride.
The training program was attended by the Regional General Manager, MMA, Mrs Victoria Shin-Aba, the Comptroller of Immigration MMA, the Controller of Customs, MMA, the Commissioner of Police, Airport division, the Deputy Director of State Security Services, MMA, amongst other top officials at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.
Earlier in the week, a similar program that had the MD/CE, FAAN, the SA to the President on Ease of Doing Business, the RGM, NAIA, and other top airport officials in attendance was held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
