After months of speculation, the Federal Government Monday removed heads of parastatals including the Acting Managing Director of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency(NAMA), Director-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria and Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).
President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the appointment of Captain Fola C. Akinkuotu as Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA ), Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi – Director-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Captain Abdulsalam Mohammed -Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria and Engr. Akinola Olateru – Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).
In a statement from the office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation; Sabiu Zakari for Minister of State (Aviation), Senator Hadi Sirika the sack is with immediate effect while the appointments of the new heads also take immediate effect.
Ag MD NAMA, Engineer Emma Ayansi was due for retirement since December 2016 but did not go on his mandatory terminal leave, while the AIB Commissioner, Dr. Felix Abali was enmeshed in a running battle with the unions while the DG of NIMET, Dr. Anthony Anuforum has been in office going to 10 years
However, Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma and the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Usman Mukhar retain their positions.
In the statement, Zakari described the incoming NAMA boss, Captain Akinkuotu as a seasoned transport pilot, flight and aircraft maintenance engineer, airline chief executive and a trained Aviation Industry Regulator; He was also a former Director General of the NCAA.
While he said Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi – Director-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), a Professor of Geography with speciality in Environmental Application of Remote Sensing, is currently a Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Abuja.
And in a related development, passengers, who came to Nigeria from the United Kingdom, United States of America and other places for the Yuletide, have decided to file a class suite against a Nigerian carrier (Name withheld) and Turkish Airlines.
For four days, Turkish has refused to pick passengers to their destinations via Istanbul, citing poor weather condition in Europe, especially in Istanbul.
Many passengers have expressed concern over the inability of the carriers to pick them and they have been lodged in hotels in Lagos.
Some of them who spoke to New Telegraph expressed disappointment and disclosed that they risk losing their jobs in the Europe and the US.
However, Turkish Airlines in a statement Monday said: “On behalf of Turkish Airlines Lagos, we regret the inconveniences in the disruption of Lagos to Istanbul flight due to bad weather issue on January 7, 2017.
“We hereby advice you to proceed to our Head Office at 1, Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island Lagos for a change of your ticket to other available dates or ask for a full refund at your ticket purchase unit. We hope to see you flying with us in the future.”
But a passenger, who simply gave his name as Kennedy, said the airline had kept in the hotel for days without signs that they would fly today.
He said he had exhausted all the money on him in the purchase of Turkish tickets.
A class action, class suit, or representative action is a type of law suits where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member of that group.
