The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has allayed the fear of sack in the aviation sector, saying that data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) revealed the nation’s aviation sector is currently short of staff.

Speaking at a virtual meeting against the backdrop of fear expressed by some staff of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), that the concession of the airports would lead to loss of jobs; he assured the workers that the concession would rather create new jobs.

Recall that the proposed concession of the four major airports in the country in the last five years has generated heated debates and fear of job loss among stakeholders especially the unions, leading to a series of protests.

However, the Minister said some airports were currently short of staff and would engage more hands to ensure the airports function optimally. He added that as more airports are being taken over by the government, workers would be needed to run them.

The Minister said: “The workers’ union is worried over loss of jobs but I keep assuring them that they will not lose their jobs because number one, currently by the findings of ICAO, we are understaffed in so many areas and we need to recruit people so we need all hands to manage our airports.”

“Secondly, we have now increased the number of airports within our care, we are taking over Gombe, Bauchi, Dutse, Kebbi, Osubi and many other airports and we need new hands to manage the airports.

Sirika further explained that the entire airports are not up for concession as only the terminal buildings will be conceded. Read more