Sirika has selfish motives in airport concessions, unions insist
…accuse him of shortchanging FAAN …threaten nation-wide strike
Nigeria’s aviation unions have berated the Minister for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, for marshaling a self-driven approach to the proposed concession of the nation’s viable airports.
This is the second time the unions would react vehemently to the Minister’s perceived “perfidy” in the planned agenda for airports’ concessions which he, allegedly, hijacked from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
In their first press statement published June 30th, 2020, the unions challenged Sirika to retrace his steps from the concession program and involve all stakeholders, particularly FAAN and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), in mapping out the procedures and blueprint for airports concessions.
However, the Minister issued a rejoinder to the unions’ statement, questioning their rights and motives for challenging his intentions.
In a rebuttal to the Minister’s rejoinder, the unions have distilled his claims, insisting that he has selfish interest in the propositions for airport concessions.
A statement signed by the secretaries of the unions – National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) – and made available to TW reads:
Recall our press conference of 30th June, 2020 on the theme, “Airport Concession is a Crime Against Nigerian People: It Must Be Resisted Frontally”.
The Conference alerted the Federal Government and the Nigerian people to the rather unwholesome airports concession program being overseen by the Ministry of Aviation.
In doing so, we espoused credible grounds for our assertions. But, the media on July 17 th , 2020 conveyed a Press statement by the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, Mr. James Oduadu which was the Minister of Aviation’s rejoinder to the issues raised in our earlier press conference.
We wish to state that the rejoinder further exposes the faulty grounds of the airports concession programme and the desperation to foist a hidden agenda on Nigeria and Nigerians. We can distill four (4) main issues from the rejoinder.
Please permit us to react to the Hon. Minister’s rejoinder based on the four issues distilled therefrom, as follows:
That our Unions are mere “…industrial and special interest groups claiming to be acting on behalf of all members of much respected aviation sector associations.
We are befuddled by the insinuation in the rejoinder that our Unions only “…claim to be acting on behalf ….” of our members in “…specifically the assets included in the concession programme in question”.
It truly begs the question as to the rationale for the Minister to doubt the fact that the opinions expressed at the press conference represents the views of workers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
These same views have been canvassed by the workers of FAAN since the idea of the concession has been mooted, and have had several street protests over same.
At any rate, while we may choose to grant the Minister the right to his opinion in this respect, we believe that unfolding events will soon dispel his doubts about how well we represent our members in FAAN.
We are further surprised that the Hon. Minister refers to the presentation at our press conference under reference as having been issued by ‘some members’ of our Unions.
This derogative remark, perhaps unknown to the Minister, is an open invitation to dismiss a statement by the Permanent Secretary of his Ministry with the wave of the hand as coming from a mere individual, or just some staff, of the Ministry. This wouldn’t be right.
For all we know, the Press conference was properly convened by our Unions and the issues raised are the official opinions of our Unions. The signatories who are General Secretaries of our Unions cannot be referred to as mere individuals’ in the Unions.
That our Unions are ignorant of the concessions or PPP procedures as being overseen by the ICRC is in the contrary.
We are not ignorant of the ICRC processes. As a matter of fact, our well-considered contention that the ICRC has not performed due diligence on the concession programme, and that the Ministry has not acted altruistically in the matter is borne out of our knowledge that both the Ministry and the ICRC have gravely failed to comply with the established PPP due process.
For the sake of clarity, we wish to call attention to the following noticeable fundamental infractions in the handling of the airport concession project by the ICRC and the Ministry of Aviation.
A major pre-requisite for enabling a PPP, according to ICRC regulation, is that, “The public entity should have enabling authority to transfer its responsibility -enabling legislative and policy framework OR an Administrative Order to that effect”.
But, we find nothing in the Federal airports Authority of Nigeria Act that grants power to the Ministry of Aviation “to transfer its responsibility”, nor is there any clear “legislative & policy framework” for such, nor is there an “Administrative order” in that respect. Therefore, the airports concession is being undertaken in the absence of a basic pre-requisite, and in contravention of its major policy guideline.
The mode of operation of the ICRC is to deal directly with the concessioner Ministry, or Department, or Agency (MDA); in this instance, the FAAN.
But, as we all well know, FAAN has not even as much as done any project identification, or prioritization, or concept note to the ICRC on concession of any airport in Nigeria to the ICRC as required by the publicly stated ICRC procedures.
And the only role FAAN has played so far is that of a representative member on the Project Delivery Team and the Steering Committee as appointed by the Minister.
Therefore, the ICRC and the Ministry, by carrying on with the airports concession project outside the purview of FAAN is indicative of an unwholesome agenda. Such action is, in fact, unlawful as it contravenes Part II, 3(g) of the FAAN Establishment Act, 2004 as well as the Civil Aviation Act, 2005.
As a matter of fact, for a PPP project by an Agency as in this case, the only role prescribed for a Minister by the ICRC is that the Agency “would submit the FBC (Full Business Case) through the line Minister for approval”, by FEC, ostensibly.
According to the National PPP processes of the ICRC, the Transaction Adviser (TA) is to be appointed through a “competitive bidding process”. We all know that the only way to assure a truly competitive bidding process is through open bidding. But in the case of this airports concession project, there was no such bidding exercise known to the public.
As a matter of fact, we are aware that the Project Delivery Team were at a meeting discussing the issue of TA when they learnt that the FEC had just then announced the approval of the appointment of a TA. Magic.
While we agree that the project delivery Team (PDT) is not an approving authority, we must nevertheless state that the PDT is a vital organ of the PPP process with definite functions and mandates. Its functions form the foundation upon which the success of the entire PPP project rests.
Therefore, by circumventing the functions of the PDT as the ICRC and the Ministry have done, particularly by the clandestine appointment of Transitional Adviser (TA), there is a clear case of violation of the process as well as a travesty against the Nigerian people.
All the above information can be verified at www.icrc.gov.ng.
That, “…it is entirely false and malicious to claim that the Ministry has in any way single-handedly driven this process”.
Earnestly speaking, it is an understatement to state that the Minister has single-handedly driven the entire airports PPP processes thus far. Any effort to contradict this solid fact flies in the face of overwhelming evidence of the over-arching actions of the Minister on this matter.
Please permit us to point out but a few:
The Hon. Minister, with naked power, completely hijacked the airports concession project from FAAN and prevented the ownership of the process by FAAN in disregard to procedure established by the ICRC, the FAAN Act and the Civil Aviation Act.
In this regard, take note that it is the Minister, instead of FAAN that set up the Project Delivery Team (PDT). It is under the Minister’s auspices, instead of FAAN, that all the documents for the processes were produced.
It is the Minister, instead of FAAN, that received the ICRC certificate of Compliance. Clearly, the Minister, instead of FAAN, is driving the concession exercise.
Whereas the Hon. Minister has always showcased his pride in including two union representatives in the PDT, and constantly states that this was to serve the purpose of assuring transparency and accountability, his actions have advertently eroded the advertised transparent disposition.
First, the clandestine approach to the PPP process has rendered the PDT redundant, and the participation of our Unions in tow.
Second, his expressly stated disdain and low esteem for the PDT as contained in his rejoinder clearly shows that he does not reckon with the PDT.
Therefore, his oft-stated value attached to the Unions participation in the concession process through our membership of the PDT is a charade, an instrument to blackmail labour, and a calculated effort to mislead government and the public.
That the “…concession programme has the most noble of goals …” We are absolutely convinced that the preponderance of infractions/violations, short-circuiting/circumventions, and gross abuses of the PPP processes have denied the proposed airports concession of any nobility.
Any non-chauvinistic and honest assessment of the airports concession programme so far cannot but confirm our earlier held view that this concession is a crime against the Nigerian State and its people, and that it should be discontinued forthwith.
Besides, the Honourable Minister’s rejoinder under reference deliberately failed to respond to other very important issues raised in our press conference.
For example, the concession programme has nothing in it to cater for the demise that faces the remaining eighteen (18) airports when the life support that the four airports represent is switched off by the blood sucking concession programme. The rejoinder did not address that.
The rejoinder did not speak to the alternative concession models and other approaches canvassed in our press conference. Instead, the rejoinder gave the false impression that our Unions are totally objectionable to concession of airports. This is not true at all.
Equally important is the loud silence over the issue of primacy of national security, especially at this time and the foreseeable future.
The rejoinder failed to situate, within the national security architecture, the potential fact of the four foremost international gateways being held in private (most likely foreign) hands.
Furthermore, there remains no clarity on the question of the semi-concession that already exists through the Chinese loan facility being utilised for ongoing new terminal buildings at the same four airports, including remodelling of the old terminals. There is yet to be any explanation on that.
Based on the foregoing, it is obvious that the rejoinder in question did not help the Minister’s cause in justifying the airport’s concession project as presently conceived which we consider potentially damaging to national interest.
To the contrary, the rejoinder further consolidated widely held view that this particular PPP does not serve any national cause, and its motive is not wholesome.
We hasten, though, to let it be known that we are unambiguously strewn to the national cause and the genuine interest of the workers of FAAN.
We are completely extricated from any narrow, or selfish motives. Therefore, we shall remain unwavering in our stated commitment to deny this clandestine PPP the benefit of daylight.
Furthermore, we hereby publicly dissociate ourselves from any notion of being against the concession of airports as being insinuated in some quarters.
This lie is defeated by the fact that we did offer an alternative concession model, along with alternative approaches in our earlier press conference.
On the strength of that, we shall stand firm against any attempt to share our common patrimony in the guise of a phony concession exercise.
And we enjoin all Nigerians who love the fatherland to join us as we prepare for nationwide public protests to be kicked off shortly in order to compel a rethink in a positive direction.There is no going back.
However, we welcome the Hon. Minister’s promise to engage with us on these issues, and we make ourselves available and look forward to such engagement soon enough.
For, should it be that the Hon. Minister does have an altruistic motive after all, and we are only mistaking his overzealousness for ill motive, then this statement represents a valuable chance for the Minister to step back a bit and take another look at his approach thus far.
In that case, his intended engagement with our unions may prove auspicious and useful indeed.
