AVIATION INVESTMENT THROUGH POLICY: GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE

As I take a second look at the topic assigned, I found it amusing that l am being invited to speak from government perspective! It looks like an awkward assignment. However, as often happens there are some good in seemingly unusual circumstances. The Ministry of Aviation is charged with the overall responsibility of managing aviation in the country. It is empowered by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act of 1964 to make policy and regulate air navigation, air transportation, airport development and maintenance, provision of aviation infrastructural service and other needs of the aviation industry. the Civil Aviation Act 2006 part 1, Section 1 also states that; “The Minister shall be responsible for the formulation of policies and strategies for the promotion and encouragement of civil aviation in Nigeria and the fostering of sound economic policies that assure the provision of efficient and safe services by air carriers and other aviation and allied service providers, as well as greater access to air transport in a sustainable manner and to assist with ensuring that Nigeria’s obligations under international agreement are implemented and adhered to.” This event is as an opportunity to indicate the direction our policy should take for meaningful aviation investment in the Nigeria. In doing this it is we must kick start it with these mantra: Analysing past policy documents, identify the positive impact they have made and highlight their deficiencies. Set a timeline for review of the document Consult and engage Stakeholders across board Will power to implement by the initiator and those for whom it is made It is also pertinent to highlight parts of the existing legal framework that supports the regulation of the aviation sector in Nigeria as a concretization of government policy at a given period of time. By so doing, such laws especially the Nigeria Civil Aviation Act 2006 would require some tinkering to accommodate policy pronouncements, developments in the industry as well as modification of regulations in accordance with current global best practices. Policy formulation and implementation does not follow the orthodox perspective as a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. It is a statement of intent and it is implemented as a procedure or protocol.In other words, it is the general principles by which a government is guided in its management of public affairs, or the legislature in its measures. When applied to a law, ordinance, or rule of law, it denotes the general purpose or tendency considered as the policy direction. Policy in Nigeria is often the outcome of myopic protection of class interest, ego and uninformed perception of role. Thus, the aviation sector experienced several policies in congruencies, hurtful reversals and unpredictability which have been quite harmful to the development of the sector. Certainty of procedure and activities are the hallmark of aviation. Unpredictability just as applicable to the weather is an undesirable index to the aviator. Perhaps the latest of Nigerian policy documents was the Nigerian National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2013. Profound critique of this document has been variously made by notable names in the industry. It suffices to say that Nigeria needs a comprehensive general aviation policy that defines the scope of oversight functions of regulatory agencies and sets out guidelines for private sector participation. Efforts should be made to ensure that Ministerial intervention in safety and regulatory activities are reduced to the barest minimum if not out rightly forbidden. Any attempt at formulating or developing an aviation policy as would encourage investment must address the following: Funding of Safety and Security Inadequate infrastructure certification Access to Maintenance Services Rising Costs of Aviation Fuel Taxation The effects of the foreign exchange crisis Safety Regulation Labour Issues Adherence to Terms Conditions of Agreements Retention of “Ease of Doing Business” Implementation of The Economic Regulations Guidelines Respect of Judicial proclamations In order to address the various challenges, the Aviation industry needs an effective policy that will harness its potential and attract more foreign investment, as well as address safety and national security concerns as focal point. Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $415.08 billion according to the International Monetary Fund's world economic outlook for October 2016. Notwithstanding the contraction in the economy over the past two years, Nigeria remains a major African hub for business and commercial activities. Therefore, the required policy direction at this point in time is such policy as would ensure: Development of new Airports through PPP Deliberate establishment of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facilities with 0% Customs tariffs including VAT, 5-year tax holiday MRO related transactions, simplified Ports clearance, expeditious grant of land on generous terms Aggressive review of Bilateral Traffic Rights Regional Connectivity Scheme- Tax incentives for all airlines operating on hitherto underserved routes Upward review of Foreign Equity or participation to accommodate 100% ownership to boost FDI. Chile and Australia modified their laws to accommodate 100% ownership of airline and allied business Well articulated but consistent air transport policy is very critical to Nigeria’s long – term development. However, the air transport policy is supposed to be formulated to form part of a transport chain. Aviation had hitherto been treated like a stand-alone rather than be part of a seamless all inclusive transport “Chain”. ALL NATIONS HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ENSURING THE SAFE AND ORDERLY DEVELOPMENT OF AVIATION

ILS: WE ALL FAILED AND EMBARRASSED THE NATION

The industry went into wild jubilation when the government announced in the last quarter of last year that it had purchased a new set of Instrument Landing System (ILS) CAT 3 to be precise for Lagos and Abuja airports respectively which was installed while the functional CAT 2 ILS in these airports were moved to other airports in the country. The icing on the cake was another announcement that informed of the arrival of a new calibration aircraft for the country to be used in calibrating all critical landing instruments installed in all our airports. We rejoiced because the CAT 3 is an improved version of CAT 2 system which can enable aircraft land at almost zero visibility while the new aircraft will aid safety by calibrating the necessary instrument in all our airports in a timely and procedural manner as approved by the regulator and manufacturers and most importantly reduce the huge cost of calibration that we usually concession to ASECNA which is sometimes delayed due to unavailability of funds. Alas our joy was pyrrhic with the embarrassing situation we found ourselves in recently with international flights being cancelled, diverted or returning to base from mid air. These airlines chose Accra as an alternate and not Abuja. At a stage, Accra could not handle the surge anymore then they diverted as far as Dakar in Senegal. Why Accra and not Abuja? The industry just woke up after 50 years to realise that the alternate airport to Lagos on the chart for foreign carriers is Accra and not Abuja. This has remained unchanged hence the request by Qatar Air to the Ministry to seek approval to land in Abuja. Yet the Ministry gloated on this approval. The silence from the industry in all of these was disappointing. I can remember NATCA the umbrella body of the air traffic controllers voicing out in the beginning but were countered by NAMA management. Thereafter it was the conspiracy of silence from all industry players. The restive unions that will brutalise concessionaires and airlines owing their organizations went mute, the media did not make it a shouting headline, neither did the agencies or numerous experts and professionals, rather we chose to murmur or use the social media to discuss or defend, heaping all the problems on weather and not on us who allowed the ministry and its agencies to simply herd us into this imbroglio. Surprisingly foreign airlines that lost a lot of revenue to the diversion estimated at around $6,000,000.00 also failed to speak up and it would appear, they chose the back end communication channel to save aviation officials and not the industry, themselves or their disappointed passengers. The juicy extra frequency, gauge and points of entries cannot be toyed with hence the blank cheque given to passengers to spend and seal lips thereafter. I hope it works… The passengers who were mainly Nigerians were kept in Accra and Dakar respectively, some were airlifted back to Nigeria, some returned to the country of departure while others found their way by road to Nigeria after being stranded for some days. Some of these passengers fell ill; some were attacked by robbers on arrival in Lagos at the dead of night while another passenger died in the hotel while waiting to board his flight. This is in addition to distortions to flight schedules and missing connecting flights and luggage. What was the industry’s response to the imbroglio? The ministry of Aviation sent out belated concurrent press releases apologising to passengers, heaping the problem on inclement weather and accusing the foreign airlines of deliberately going to Accra as a choice and not Abuja when the chart given says Accra is the alternate. The ministry of Information simply picked the template of the Ministry of Aviation by changing one or two sentences in words while connoting the same reasons as their counterpart. Cherry picked government officials and other professionals also towed the same line in almost all media outlets. The inclement weather being parroted now is harmattan haze which can make visibility poor, that is a fact but landing in poor visibility is not usually an issue, if the airport has the right equipment such as the CAT 3 instrument landing systems (ILS), pilots can secure enough assistance to land safely, even when the visibility is next to nothing, simply put, our instrument failed when it was most needed. It is gratifying to see the Honourable Minister of Aviation accept that some components in the brand new ILS CAT 3 instrument failed hence the problem of inaccurate reading and its inability to function properly after installation, which necessitated the hurried recall of ASECNA which later culminated in the use of the recently purchased calibration aircraft to recalibrate the instrument which happily has been corrected and NOTAM issued. The solution to putting an end to diversion of aircraft outside Nigeria during inclement weather that often leads to poor visibility is simply making provision for functional CAT - III Instrument Landing System (ILS-CAT III) in all our 4 International Airports, presently located in Lagos, Abuja, P/H and Kano. Anything short of that cannot change the situation whenever we have bad weather. The chart given to airlines some decades ago with Accra as alternate should be reviewed to Abuja and Port-Harcourt. The poor oversight on our part to rectify the book was very profitable to the Ghanaians while also causing the foreign airlines and passenger losses and pains. The NCAA should ensure that scheduled and mandatory maintenance and calibrations of the navigational and landing aids in all airports are timely and sustained in line with regulations, considering the last Max Air incident at Minna airport which should have served as a wakeup call. The pilot attributed the incident to the erratic performance of the ILS instrument. The new calibration aircraft bought for the country should be handed over to NAMA and commercialised to recoup funds expended and should also generate revenue for the country while the ghost of the older aircraft flown by late Capt Agbeyegbe should be properly rested with appropriate documentation stating current situation. The Ministry should please hands off from procurements of equipments, announcements of projects or managing of the new calibration aircraft. I could hear the murmuring at the chambers when the MD NAMA was asked the cost of CAT3 installion and he simply said it was only the Minister that can answer that question. Rather the Ministry should focus on policy direction, guiding air navigation, air transport, airport development and provision of infrastructure which is clearly stated in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Act of 1964 and 2006 respectively. We also implore FAAN to urgently fix the runway light on 18L to make it available for night operations while also extending the operating hours of some of our airports. It’s a little wonder that Ilorin Airport which serves as alternate to Lagos shuts down at 1800 hrs while it runs for 24hrs only during Hajj. I align with the proposal for FAAN to handover the runway lighting systems to NAMA let us drop the ego and percevied interest here for Safety and Efficiency. Finally as we tip-toe towards the formation of a strong airline with the acronym “National Carrier” I can only plead with the government to make it a stratum while the strata should be a comprehensive National Civil Aviation Policy covering connectivity, bilateral, fiscal support, maintenance, infrastructure and guided deregulation buried in effective implementation of economic regulations. The Federal Government failed and embarrassed Nigerians in cohort with stakeholders not the inclement weather. Olumide. O. OHUNAYO ●

CONTRIBUTIONS OF A NATIONAL CARRIER TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA

Why Do Countries Set Up National Carriers? A. National carriers are usually set up at the teething stage of a country’s civil aviation. B. They are sometimes brought back to life, though at great cost and risk to absorb employees of failed major domestic carriers. It provides employment and assuages nerves of restive unions. C. They may also be set up to avert monopolistic or weak tendencies of surviving airlines by providing additional fleet, capacity, and frequency in support of other registered carriers or investors. Generally they are regularly propped up with numerous protectionist policies, such as financial aid, route exclusivity, privatisation, technical partnership etc. When these policies fail they are sold, liquidated or shredded. National Carrier or National Aviation Policy? A national carrier is limiting as it focuses on the airline and its operations, but a National Aviation Policy with the national carrier embedded focuses on socio-economic development. The policy will strengthen the industry and our airlines, the policy should include reduction of taxes, modernisation of ATC, regulatory burden reforms, stabilisaton of aviation fuel prices, provision of market for the flag carriers through a Fly Nigeria Act, while also ensuring our carriers consolidate and compete globally. Who Initiates The National Aviation Policy? The Ministry of Aviation is charged with the overall responsibility of managing aviation policy in the country. It is empowered by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act of 1964 to make policies guiding air navigation, air transportation, airport development and maintenance, and provide aviation infrastructural service and other needs of the aviation industry. The Civil Aviation Act 2006 part 1, Section 1 also states that; “The Minister shall be responsible for the formulation of policies and strategies for the promotion and encouragement of civil aviation in Nigeria and the fostering of sound economic policies that assure the provision of efficient and safe services by air carriers and other aviation and allied service providers, as well as greater access to air transport in a sustainable manner and to assist with ensuring that Nigeria’s obligations under international agreement are implemented and adhered to.” This event is as an opportunity to indicate the direction our policy should take for meaningful aviation investment in Nigeria. In doing this it is we must kick start it with these mantra: ⮚ Analysing past policy documents, identify the positive impact they have made and highlight their deficiencies. ⮚ Set a timeline for review of the document ⮚ Consult and engage Stakeholders across board ⮚ Will power to implement by the initiator and those for whom it is made ⮚ NATIONAL INTEREST ABOVE SELF INTEREST Any attempt at formulating or developing an aviation policy as would encourage investment must address the following: ⮚ Funding of Safety and Security ⮚ Inadequate infrastructure certification ⮚ Access to Maintenance Services ⮚ Rising Costs of Aviation Fuel ⮚ Taxation ⮚ The effects of the foreign exchange crisis ⮚ Safety Regulation ⮚ Labour Issues ⮚ Adherence to Terms Conditions of Agreements ⮚ Retention of “Ease of Doing Business” ⮚ Implementation of The Economic Regulations Guidelines ⮚ Respect of Judicial proclamations Therefore, the required policy direction at this point in time should support the national airlines and improve the socio economic conditions: ⮚ Development of Airports (old and new) through PPP ⮚ Deliberate establishment of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facilities with 0% Customs tariff including VAT, 5-year tax holiday MRO related transactions, simplified Ports clearance, expeditious grant of land on generous terms ⮚ Aggressive review of Bilateral Traffic Rights ⮚ Regional Connectivity Scheme- Tax incentives for all airlines operating on hitherto underserved routes ⮚ Upward review of Foreign Equity or Participation A well articulated and consistent Air Transport Policy is very critical to Nigeria’s long term development. However, it should be formulated to form part of a transport chain. Aviation has always been treated as a stand-alone; instead of as part of a seamless all inclusive transport chain. ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF NIGERIA (AMCON) AND MINISTRY OF AVIATION The obvious disagreement between AMCON and the Ministry is not helpful and will obviously derail the national carrier project in the long run. There is a misconception that AMCON is an interloper. It is a government organisation that was applauded when it stepped in to halt the financial bleeding in ARIK and AERO. AMCON’s priority is to save depositors' funds, the financial system and legitimate borrowers, whose business offered a safety net. The recovery process starts with getting advisers, advertising the organisation and getting requisite approval from regulatory agencies. We must support AMCON to achieve this effort. Therein is the successful conception of the National Carrier. I also want to advise that we avoid some glaring mistakes that led to the fall of Virgin Nigeria which are  The use of government power to foist unfair and “favourable” agreements.  Secrecy of would be investors that were labelled institutional investors.  Non participation of Nigerian investors in the management of the airline.  Non involvement of aviation stakeholders in the ownership structure.  Government interference in operational schedule. ALL NATIONS HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ENSURING SAFE AND PROFITABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AVIATION! Thank You Olumide Ohunayo Head Research & Corporate Travel Zenith Travel& Consult PRO Aviation Round Table

NIGERIAN AIRLINE: WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN

NIGERIA AIRLINE: WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN? The recent visit of Ethiopian Airlines CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, to the capital city Abuja and the subsequent press interview granted by him has generated a lot of negative comments from stakeholders and industry players who found some of his comments and mission to Nigeria, offensive. What was offensive to players was his description of Nigeria airlines as being weak, and their intention to invest and own a carrier in Nigeria. I do not align with the negative comments because he did not use safety risk but weak which is very broad and can be interwoven with other concomitants when assessing the state of Nigerian airlines. I also do not see anything wrong in ET investing in a local carrier, if the extant laws are applied and a level playing field is applied for all investors in the industry. ET is currently in Togo through an investment in ASKY airlines, in Ghana partnering with their government for a national carrier as also in Niger Republic and operating four entry points into Nigeria. ET will not be eligible to start our national carrier if they don’t give concessions because fares, services and competition will be sacrificed to the detriment of Nigerian and other west coast passengers. They should be encouraged to invest in any of the domestic airlines or start a new one. This will ginger competition on the home front, improve service delivery and ultimately reduce fares. We have Comair in South Africa a British Airways franchise, ASKY in Togo partly owned by ET as stated earlier and AWA in Ghana whose forbearers are a team from HAINAN, a Chinese airline. These airlines are doing very well in the region and are poised to latch into the Single Africa Air Transport Market successfully. We need more airlines in the domestic market considering some routes have exorbitant fares as high as N70,000 just because there are no competitors on that route, a subtle connivance among operators. Let me digress a bit, the unending clamour for the reversal of the different Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) signed by Nigeria with other nations will be unabated. The reasons for these are the multiple entries, persistent increase in gauge and frequencies for foreign airlines which is a clear departure from the past where these airlines seek to discuss with our carriers on commercial partnership or pay royalties to the government for extra flights beyond what was agreed in the BASA. Commercial aviation the world over has moved beyond royalty payment to any government that is desirous of developing a vibrant industry rather than parroting it, while it also encourages talking or partnering with their homegrown airlines. The government has a responsibility to strengthen their airlines, protect any designated carrier who carries the flag which ultimately increases employment and productivity. It’s a better option to increasing frequencies for foreign carriers who will use one ground-handling company and same office staff which lowers their cost, increase profit and capital flight. The industry was alarmed last week when the news broke that Emirates airline has been granted an extra frequency to Lagos despite having two daily frequencies to Lagos and another daily flight to Abuja while Etihad airline from the same country also has a daily flight. To our amazement Emirates said it was a hajj flight and it will operate for one month. Did emirates bid for Hajj? Why didn’t they park the aircraft at the Hajj camp to ferry the passengers? Why were other passengers going to other international destinations taken inbound and outbound on a Hajj flight? Heads in the Ministry and NCAA should roll, and Emirates sanctioned for this breach, as this was a deliberate act targeted at frustrating Air Peace out of the Sharjah route. Unfortunately, government officials became pawns to kill our own. We need a selfless Minister in our industry and the President should look at a commercially oriented person or we will keep going round in circles. Nigeria Airways and not Emirates, developed the Dubai route. Emirates only latched on to the fruits when WT fell. Emirates love multiple entries and frequencies yet can’t invest in a Nigerian airline or build one themselves. WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN? Curiously, why do they sidetrack our airlines for discussion with politicians at the Federal and State level? Why are we having a cacophony of responses or reactions in the industry to the obvious slide in our commercial air-transport which is now advantageous to the foreign airlines? Why will an investor come in when the natural protectionist policy for homegrown airlines have simply vanished by just walking straight to the Presidency or the Ministry with an a-la-carte and the deal is signed? Kenyan government has withheld Emirates application for a third frequency and Etihad’s application to operate into Nairobi because they need to sort out Kenya Airways’ dwindling performance. WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN? The industry players are the greatest culprits in all of this and the incoming Minister for State (Aviation) must be very careful while seeking advice, which is oftentimes laced with self, and not national interest. The recent hearing at the Senate where almost all the Senators were defending international flights to their states and the reasons to sustain them is a typical example, while industry players in turn speak on behalf of who pays a cheque or supports their personal programmes. We are on the verge of starting a new national carrier after many false starts from Air Nigeria in 1993 to Nigeria Air in 2018. 26 years, and we are still going round in circles. During this period, the best we got for our efforts was Virgin Nigeria, who within six years had all certifications and numerous offers for partnership. Virgin Nigeria was later made to pay the ultimate price, starting with a wide-body on a wet lease which was forced on them by the government of the day which insisted that they wanted an international presence in London and other cities. The lease unbalanced VN operations and burnt quickly through whatever funds the airline had raised. Not surprisingly, while Virgin Nigeria won a number of best new airline awards in 2006, in 2008 it also reported a $41 million loss, equivalent to 80% of the airline’s start-up capital, the rest is history. We are toeing that line with the new national carrier project of acquiring five aircrafts and flying to international destinations almost immediately without any base or foundation, just government support without requisite funding. No wonder the investors had to flee or in local parlance put us in “is coming” mode. WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN? The immediate past Minister; Senator Hadi Sirika till the 90th minute, in his numerous meetings with stakeholders never saw anything reasonable in discussing the faith of AERO and ARIK and tying it with the new national carrier. These airlines are under the management of government through AMCON and saved from liquidation, so we may ask why did the government choose to resuscitate rather than let them die two years ago? What will happen to these airlines if the government that is sourcing for investors for them is on the other hand sourcing for investors to start a new national carrier? WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN? It’s time to bite the bullet and the government must take a firm decision. In doing that, we must realize that the banks owed by the duo are owned by Nigerians and they also need to be protected, the Ministry of Finance, Justice and the Central Bank must be involved in the final push or the bullet will ricochet. Domestic airlines are protected and supported irrespective of agreements signed with other countries, Nigeria cannot be different. The US3 (United, American & Delta) met with their President recently to resist the open skies agreement with M3 (Qatar, Etihad & Emirates). The CEO of Delta was tactically absent because he bought Airbus aircraft and not Boeing and didn’t want to be tongue lashed or Trump lashed. The US has refused to sign open skies with China till date because their airlines and unions resisted saying it’s a threat to their job security. Yet smaller countries were bamboozled to the open skies dotted lines. Kenya government is still trying to straighten Kenya Airways’ (KQ) books. They are renationalising the airline while KLM the technical partner is still dumbfounded. They also tried to make a joint holding company to manage KQ, Kenya Airports and other government owned service providers which was resisted by the airport workers with a devastating strike. ET and the M3 have successfully used this model as a quasi subsidy option to buffet the bottom-line of their carriers and strengthening their finances hence the outcry by US3. I am not advocating this model for Nigeria. Obviously, we have moved beyond that stage. Our airlines would receive more foreign direct investment and offers of strategic partnership if airlines and the aviation sector were run on a transparent basis, securing long-term funding, scarce access to capital means playing by international rules. Annual reports must be prepared to international accounting standards, quarterly reporting of operational statistics and presentation of board meeting reports on strategic decisions amongst other things must also be maintained. Olumide Ohunayo

ONE YEAR UNDER PMB

AVIATION: ONE YEAR AFTER It is a year and some days today since we have been under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari. His promises to the industry remain a dream, and hopefully will be a reality before 2019 elections. The President and his party, in their campaign manifesto promised us a new national carrier that will fly the flag as a refreshing replacement to the liquidated Nigeria Airways. He promised to reduce the number of aircraft in the Presidential Fleet to save cost and to redress all lopsided agreements signed to the detriment of Nigeria, and Nigerians in particular. Presently, the industry is badly hit by the freefall of the Naira and the unstable high exchange rate, which has driven a huge blade in the finances of local and foreign operators. Local operators cannot increase gauge, or negotiate new leases, and foreign carriers are either pulling out of routes, or reducing frequencies. Also, to the consternation of industry stakeholders, Government that promised to redress lopsided agreements, went ahead to sign an expanded agreement with Qatar. Qatar has only one point of entry and is a strong airline that is heavily subsidised and supported by its Government. In a bid to cut the cost of public travel, Government abolished First Class tickets for officials, but the much awaited and needed restructuring of aviation agencies has not happened. We have taken note of the tailored visit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to some agencies, and this is APPLAUDED. Recently, Government rolled out a new set of promises: the National Carrier Project that was earlier jettisoned as not being a priority; concessioning of choice airports; establishment of a National Maintenance Hangar; setting up of an aircraft leasing company; and an advanced Aviation School in Abuja. The Ministry of Budget and Planning has also included some of our projects in the national planning program which is a good development. I strongly advise that they engage stakeholders before implementation. From the foregoing, it is evident that Government is tilting towards productivity hence the emphasis on commercialisation and efficiency with a subtle acceptance that the previous government bequeathed a good safety and security template that must be sustained in the interim, or better still moved to excellent. The change process is slow and the players are hurting, therefore Government must rev the engine and move. In moving, the following should be considered:after a year, the resource guzzling Presidential Fleet is still the same size. To our surprise, the President has also been very silent on this issue. Why the sudden change in position? Mr President, the civil aircraft in the Presidential Fleet, excluding 001 and a good backup aircraft using range and sitting capacity as an advantage, should be discarded without hesitation. On the Aircraft Leasing Company being proposed, it should take off as a PPP, which will metamorphose into a Commercial Aircraft Finance Enterprise (CAFE). This company is a needed tonic to provide safe, efficient and affordable air transport for intra Africa travel. The CAFE idea will allow airlines access to aircraft with minimal cash, compared to outright purchase or leasing from companies outside the continent. The company should only deal with commercially viable carriers, hence the need for our airlines to consolidate fragmented routes and begin to develop strong regional cooperation. The agencies in the sector need urgent manpower and administrative surgery. They are tilted politically to the detriment of professionalism, therefore to restore efficiency and reduce cost, Government should not only dig into the past rot, but ensure that the books are combed to ascertain purported expenses and liabilities. On public travel, Government should go further and warehouse all public travel. This will involve inviting foreign airlines who have shown interest to submit offers, which will be heavily discounted and renegotiated on bi-annual basis. The Australian Government just renegotiated public travel costs with foreign airlines flying into Australia, despite having strong carriers. Unfortunately, 97% of our public travel is on foreign airlines. With the introduction of single till account, our public travel can be warehoused to reduce costs. The process of stabilising the naira has started and it must be sustained to bring the economy back to its feet, boost investors’ confidence and increase enplanement. The official window should be opened for all schedule operators only, corporate and private aircraft owners should source for their forex. Also, scheduled flights should be seen as essential services, not residual, hence the need to address taxes and charges built into the system and passenger tickets. The purported deregulation of aviation fuel should be revisited, not reversed. The supply mode is tactically regulated, while passengers pay fuel surcharge on each ticket till date, despite the fall in oil prices. There is something wrong here. On the concession of choice airports, Government should please go through all the different options on the table, while also using our peculiar socio economic barometer before closing the door. Taking only the four viable airports alone and leaving the unviable ones will create more problems for the industry. There should be fairness and transparency from the beginning to prevent future problems, while an independent, robust and strong regulatory body must come on stream to protect the public. It is the norm and we cannot be different. Government has committed to African Single Sky which will commence sometime next year. Before its commencement, Nigeria should spearhead the immediate implementation of the ECOWAS Single Sky. The Ghanaians have opened their skies and non Ecowas members are feasting to our detriment. Our carriers in their present state can flex their muscles on the West Coast, but will be unable to key into the imminent African Single Sky project due to poor corporate structure, systems and processes that have made them leprous outside the Nigerian airspace. How do you explain this? ASKY, a young Togolese carrier, and Air Rwanda, which belongs to a country still recovering from genocide and without CAT 1 certification have numerous code shares and interline with foreign carriers, which account for about 30% of their revenue; while our carriers can boast of none with our CAT 1 and numerous IOSA certifications. These airlines cannot blame Government for commercial failures but themselves, hence the repeated agitation for a national carrier. If Government says the new national carrier will be privately driven, then it is a national airline not a national carrier. Will these new investors be given more protection, support and exclusivity up and above other investors in the industry? That will not be fair. What is fair, is a new regulatory consolidation process that will remove the ridiculous two aircraft get an AOC to ten aircraft get an AOC. Also, the Presidential Inter-Agency Committee set up to assist AMCON, which incidentally includes our Minister of State should do whatever is needed to save publicly owned banks, rather than airlines owned by individuals due to the impact on our economy. We need at least two national airlines. Sadly, we do not have any in the Nigerian skies, therefore let us consolidate their liabilities and get a technical partner to buy government equity. It is pertinent to point out that the ghost of the liquidated National Carrier is still hanging with non-payment of staff and this must be taken into consideration as plans are made. The MRO Project being mooted is also a good idea. It will reduce operational cost and strengthen our operational prowess. Efforts by investors to key into this project were frustrated by a minister in the previous administration, who requested for $30M from the $100M loan granted the investor to start the project. How callous! Government can recall this investor with an apology, or send out a new set of bids. The Minister of State should, as a matter of urgency, convene a Stakeholders’ Conference that will draft and present a National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP}. What he called last month was ministerial briefing and not a Stakeholders’ Conference. We need the policy to tackle common bottlenecks to propel Nigerian aviation. The new policy must reflect liberalisation and be pro growth. Some countries have done it. India’s new NCAP is designed to empower carriers to: bypass regulators and negotiate commercial partnerships; improve facilitations by using fast travel technology systems; and self handling will be allowed to boost competition with ground handlers. Taxes on maintenance will also be reviewed downwards. These and many more can be looked into to bolster our industry. Finally, Mr President, tourism drives aviation and vice versa. For us to stop dreaming and achieve the much cherished hub status, we need a strong national airline to do it, not a foreign carrier. To improve tourism and attract traffic to our airports from neighbouring countries, we need to stop the embarrassing and corrupt behaviour of our Immigration, Customs and other officials by removing the numerous checking posts aka toll gates created on the routes leading into our country and restrict them to our borders. These officials are corrupt and have fantastically corrupted our neighbours. We need people from neighbouring countries to come here to fly, rather than go to Ghana. It is a challenge we must overcome.

THE JODA COMITTEE REPORT

The media was recently awash with the Joda Committee report; key decisions were taken and forwarded to the presidency for implementation. The committee asked the Federal government to merge all airlines owing AMCON to form a major carrier or is it a National carrier .I do not agree to that submission because the debt to asset ratio of Arik Air is obviously higher than its liabilities,binding it with other carriers because of indebtedness will not be appropriate . Also I am not impressed with the management of Aero by AMCON ,the airline rather than improve in services has been reducing in operations and fleet with an abysmal staff strength. The resuscitating medication is not working ,therefore AMCON should lookout for other options such as advertising for buyers or shop for turnaround airline experts not unemployed expatriates to help the recovery process before a merger ,an outright merger now will be counterproductive and a subtly subsidy for families who mismanaged their airlines using funds from banks owned by Nigerians. The committee also wants the government to address the under -utilisation of routes, this is a good initiative if we can address this problem .The airlines are fixiated on the trunk routes leaving other domestic routes to a flight or two per day. These famished routes can be improved upon if the Airport facilities are tweaked to extend operational hours,by drastically reducing charges and fees at such airports and by also giving interested airlines some Incentives. It’s the joint responsibility of the Federal and State government to attract flights to those airports, with the Federal government taking the lead.If we improve facilities and increase operational hours it will benefit our airlines, passengers and the economy at large. The committee also requested that the NCAA should enforce the capitalisation requirement of #2.5b and #5b naira respectively, for domestic and international operators that are registered in Nigeria, within three months. I totally disagree, we will continue to progress in error if the emphasis is on capitalisation . We should use fleet as the barometer of measurement by moving it from the ridiculous minimum of two aircrafts to ten aircrafts for domestic/west coast and twelve for international route . An airline with two aircraft will have commercial integrity challenge that cannot attract partners ,financial institutions or schedule integrity. Capitalisation is mere documentation in Nigeria they will all recapitalise on paper while the rot increases in reality. The committee also requested that government should upgrade facilities at our airports for the improvement or passenger services and comfort . I totally agree with this position provided public funds will not be used because of the indebtedness of FAAN and the multiple unfinished projects in our airports spread across the country. The transformation ship hit a financial iceberg when the BASA funds was completely extinguished, taking 22 airports at a go was a political decision not economic. Therefore the government should rather get a reputable airport management organisation to manage and restructure FAAN for a minimum of 10 years .They should be given a free and an uninterrupted environment to work,while efforts will be geared at reducing the debts accrued from the uncompleted or is it failed transformation agenda. To digress a bit I am taken aback by the conflicting position of the government with respect to the presidential fleet, during the campaign period the CHANGE TEAM promised to dispose aircrafts in the presidential fleet which will be used to start a national carrier project, after the inauguration the tone changed. My simple take on it, is that aircrafts in the presidential fleet are divided by civil and military registration, those with the military registration should not be touched but remain with the air force to be used to support and protect the country and the presidency in particular. Those with the civil registration should be disposed off . Mr. President and Vice president Aircrafts should be retained , a third aircraft can be on standby for a year or two to ascertain its relevance. The government should also urgently look at our bilateral agreements and multiple entries ,if Ethiopian Airlines commences the Port-Harcourt route as planned that will be the fifth entry point into Nigeria. Here is an airline that has chosen to invest in other countries in Africa bypassing Nigeria that has given them the highest number of passengers. I also will want us to address the issue of Saudi owned carriers lifting pilgrims from seven Nigerian states , how they arm twisted the government to partake in lifting Nigerian pilgrims are quite baffling. The issue of reciprocity has to do with scheduled passenger and cargo flights which at the moment are being operated by the Saudi national carrier alone unchallenged. Our airlines and passengers pay the requite duties and taxes on each passenger taken to Jeddah, which should be enough for their government. To force our pilgrims into Saudi carriers and also short changing our airlines and tour operators is tantamount to aero political bulling. IT MUST BE REVERSED. This government should realise that Nigerians voted for them not for their unrealistic promises but the realistic failures seen therefore the target is correction not promises our aviation is failing and needs some corrections.

BELATED LAMENTATIONS OF CHIEF CHIDOKA

The outgoing, and hopefully, last Aviation Minister, if our aspirations for efficient administration and cost reduction in the industry come to pass, was in his usual arrogant and passing the buck mood at his valedictory session with selected stakeholders. During the session, he carefully tabled assignments that he could have addressed while in office unhindered for the incoming administration to tackle. On his appointment, the outgoing President said he was bringing him in as a striker to score dying minute goals and also defend the perceived lead in a game that had not ended. The Chief himself told us that he is not in a hurry and has enough time to achieve and surpass the expectations and aspirations of the GEJ Administration. He therefore attended several executive aviation programmes and mini training courses in Canada to get acquainted with issues in the industry. On his return, he met industry stakeholders and dictated instead of listening during the multiple sessions, and in line with protocol, the agency heads nodded in agreement. Thereafter, he proceeded to assert himself perfectly by setting up committees to look at the various safety recommendations and other operational glitches. He went further to introduce various IT applications to complement existing processes and systems. Down the line he manifested the traits of a typical minister, flying chartered flights sponsored by the agencies. He failed to address structural and personnel defects in the agencies, which was a cardinal point of his programme. He followed the trail by introducing and imposing family and friends on the agencies, and also promoting and confirming the inner circles that were handed over to him as untouchables. The unions rose and wrote against some of the appointments, but he got away with some, such as the recent and obviously very flawed recruitment exercise in FAAN. It is amazing that he asked the incoming government to implement the 2006 Paul Dike Committee Report, which he described as a solution to the mirage of problems in the sector. So our dear Chief, why did you allow the report to gather more dust while you were in office? He also asked the incoming government to go after the remodeling and transforming contractors who collected money and did not do their jobs and those that provided sub-standard material. These contractors had numerous meetings with the Minister during his eight month reign and at no point did he raise this issue. Rather, in tandem with the agencies they either sponsored his trips, chieftaincy ceremonies or other engagements tabled before them. He never asked for refunds, neither did he criticise job quality. He kept promising to source funds for the completion of the projects. He also canvassed the setting up of an airport management company to manage FAAN which is a good idea. Unfortunately, he did not work towards that throughout his tenure. He preferred to impose his cronies and aides on the agency. The master plan that was handed to him by Ms. Stella Oduah was jettisoned for an Aviation Commit programme that was equally jettisoned by those to implement it. Suddenly, he is asking for a master plan for the industry and a transparent aerotropolis project. The icing on the slippery floor is barely 48 hours old. He appeared on NTA decrying the appalling technical staffing in the Ministry and agencies under his watch. He canvassed that a 60/40 ratio would have been ideal. Chief, it is too late to cry. Just leave us, while we earnestly wait for the incoming administration to clear the industry mess and rot.