By Shola Adekola | Lagos
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation of Nigeria (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha has declared that the President Muhammadu Buhari government has taken very radical steps to re-establish Nigeria’s presence in the global airspace by setting up a new national carrier while opening room for private sector-led sustainable aviation business development, through concession plan of some terminals of Nigeria airports.
This is just as he added that the administration has also invested heavily in infrastructure development of the sector, to give it the safety backbone to operate.
In his keynote address presented on his behalf by his representative, Mrs Foluje Joshua at the 12th edition of the Nigeria Aviation (NIGAV) Award held at the Murtala Muhhamed international Airport, Lagos, Mustapha however acknowledged that full success of this aviation development programs were still work in progress even as the government moves to close a new era.
The SGF who said with the successful repositioning of the sector through unprecedented support it enjoyed from the federal government which he said makes it one of the fastest growing sector in the country, attributed this to the good foundations laid by some great patriots.
Speaking through his representative, the SGF stated: “Aviation has remained in the centre stage of president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and received unprecedented support throughout his eight years, making it one of the fastest growing sector in Nigeria today. This administration has taken very radical steps to re-establish Nigeria’s presence in the global airspace by setting up a new national carrier while opening room for private sector-led sustainable aviation business development, through concession plan of some terminals of Nigeria airports.
“I want to sincerely appreciate Mr. Fortune Idu, the Chairman of FCI International Ltd, NIGAV Centre and the organiser of this annual national event for his consistency drive to promote excellence in the sector. I would also like to commend the effort of his team and the committee of the Nigerian Aviation development promotion award, known as NIGAV Committee, for making this a yearly opportunity for uniting the industry. It is important to stress here that Nigeria aviation over the past eight years has a sustained development and safe operations. This can only be to the credit of all the industry players, from the honourable minister to the most junior officer in various sub-unit of the aviation industry. I will also like to commend the inputs of other stakeholders like airport, airlines, airspace, weather, aviation training, insurance, bankers, contractors, consultants and so many others of the stakeholders-who made this event worthwhile.
“Aviation will continue to play its major role in facilitating economic activities and bridging connectivity gap, as a social infrastructure and as a facilitator of global trade. It is therefore important that the coming of a new era will continue in a sustainable manner to optimise the gai of the present administration. This is the duty of the industry experts to make that the industry continues to grow and remain globally competitive NIGAV has help to champion the course of better service delivery.”
By promoting healthy competition, it enhances the performances of the industry and serves as a monitoring mechanism to balance service delivery with customers’ expectations in line with internationally-acceptable standards.”
