Nigeria’s aviation industry stakeholders have demanded that newly appointed Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, should hit the road running with the timely completion of all ongoing remodelling projects left by his predecessor, Stella Oduah as top priority.
The advice was coming as the backdrop of the controversial $250 million bullet proof cars that threw his predecessor out of favour with her employers. According to a labour group, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), it is high time the Federal Government released funds to the ministry to ensure that all ongoing projects are completed. Already, fears are being raised that the abandoned projects would portend grave danger for the industry should the Jonathan administration whose tenure ends by May 2015 either abandons or fails to complete the numerous and gigantic projects it had started in the aviation sector, as the state of infrastructure would be left in a state worse than when they were started.
Olayinka Abioye, Deputy Secretary of NUATE, who spoke on behalf of the union said although the industry would have preferred the appointment of an aviation professional to the office, the industry would, however, give all its support to Chidoka given the need to speed up and conclude all ongoing projects.
“The minister should continue with the transformation projects being executed by the former minister,” said Abioye.
“I hope the new minister would learn quickly. We urge the Federal Government to make money available to enable him embark on his new job,” he added.
Another stakeholder, Chukwuemeke Iwelumo, said, “Chidoka should consider completing all on going airport projects in the sector as his top priority. Completing all ongoing airport projects would be in the interest of the aviation sector, whose road map and master plan is imperative if the industry is to be transformed to global standard.”
Pilots and aeronautical engineers in the industry, while expressing concern over “Chidoka’s apparent lack of aviation experience” advised him to be wary of “unscrupulous insiders who would willfully misdirect him for pecuniary benefits.”
“This has happened over time. We need to warn Mr. Chidoka that there are many wolves in the aviation sector who appear in sheep’s skin,” Bunmi Gindeh, spokesperson for the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers  (NAAPE) said in a note of caution to the minister.
“We have to advise the new minister to learn from the mistakes of his predecessors. Aviation is dynamic and there is need for him to engage well-meaning stakeholders in the sector in order to succeed. He should be wary of those sycophants that are waiting to pull him down.”
Analysts estimate that about $1 billion has so far been invested by the Federal Government to upgrade airports and allied infrastructure in the country. But the task of rehabilitating the nation’s airports and boosting infrastructure and the overall growth of the aviation sector is one that should not be left entirely in the hands of the government.

Beware of banana pills: Aviation stakeholders warn Chidoka