By Jimoh Babatunde & Daniel Eteghe, with agency reports

President Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to review the Open Skies Agreement between Nigeria and the United States of America, which is lopsided in favour of America as only a few Nigeria carriers operate into the United States. The Deputy Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees ( NUATE), Peter Ogaba, made this call during the Workers Day celebration last week in Lagos.

Ogaba also asked the President Jonathan to look into the issue of establishing a national carrier for Nigeria as well as that of decaying infrastructure, functional airlines, improved power supply around the airports. He said it is incumbent for Jonathan to fulfill his electoral promises by setting up a committee that will see to the establishment of a new national carrier, which will fill the void created with the demise of Nigeria Airways Limited, which was liquidated in 2003.

The NUATE official also called on Jonathan to as a matter of urgency appoint an aviation professional as minister in charge of aviation, such that the industry will benefit from the experience and knowledge of an insider, who as an industry professional will offer useful leadership on how to take the industry out of the woods. In related development, the Deputy National President of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ( ATSSSAN), Chukwu Emmanuel urged Jonathan to look into the vexed issue of airport concessions, which he said if it must be carried out should be transparent, and accountable, affirming that the present practice in the industry falls short of the globally accepted standard.

He said that if Jonathan can handle the issue of stable power supply and reviving the industrial sector, issues of job creation could be taken care of. Emmanuel explained that the president should as a matter of seriousness look into the challenge of decaying airport and air navigation equipment at airports across the country, even as he said the president has begun to fix the issue of modern airport terminals, which will make Nigerian airports align with others across the world.

Also speaking, the national deputy president of ATSSSAN, Sarah Rimdans, urged Jonathan to look into how concessionaires are diverting the funds meant for the growth and development of aviation agencies, affirming that failure on the part of the president to address this will indicate that the industry is far away from redemption.