Unions sack toll contractor of Lagos Airport Access Gate

…demand upward review of the contract

Disgruntled workers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) have sacked the concessionaire managing the Murtala Mohammed International Airport access gate over alleged poor remittance of revenue.

The workers, under the aegis of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), among others, called for upward review of the contract or it should be manned by the commercial department of the FAAN.

They also alleged that the one-year contractual agreement between the FAAN and the concessionaire – Integrated Intelligent Imaging West Africa (ICUBE) – has expired since February last year.

The workers, after dislodging ICUBE staff, drafted staff of the FAAN commercial department to man the gates.

Speaking to journalists, Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu the general secretary of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), said the management of access gate remained the sole responsibility of the commercial department of FAAN.

According to him, politicians have messed up the system through the illegal concession of revenue points at the airports, adding that concession of the access gate was fraudulent without a review of the contract for more than five years now.

He observed that the traffic of the route has greatly increased since the last exercise was carried out, which demands an upward review of the revenue percentage being remitted to FAAN.

Saidu alleged that some individuals in FAAN and the aviation ministry have compromised over the access gate, saying that the government was losing revenue from there. 

Saidu explained that following a series of meetings held with the aviation minister, FAAN boss on different occasions, it was made known to them that workers were going to take over the access gate and run it by FAAN commercial department to raise its revenue.

Also speaking, the deputy national president of Air Transport, Comrade Sarah Rimdams, said workers came to recover back their revenue points to government as the contract with ICUBE expired last February.

Rimdams said the company has been remitting N68m monthly but there was a need for upward review of the contract, adding that commercial department of FAAN has taken over and will ensure that they exceed the N68m being remitted monthly by ICUBE

She disclosed that the access gate was being test run by FAAN to actually know how much can be generated monthly, adding that it will definitely be more the amount being remitted by the concessionaire.

Reacting to the takeover, the manager of Integrated Intelligent Imaging West Africa (ICUBE), Mr. Toluwaleke Abajingin, told journalists that he was surprised to see workers and unions taking over the access gate in the early hours of Monday. 

Mr. Abajingin said the case was in court between one Rosepine Integrated limited, FAAN and ICUBE, adding that as a responsible organization, ICUBE staff did not resist. 

He said ICUBE has been paying FAAN up to date, adding that they were never informed about any upward review of the contract or otherwise. 

Abajingin said there was the first right of refusal, adding that FAAN has not communicated to ICUBE on the agreement.