BY Kenneth Ehigiator

Chairman, Governing Board of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, said Monday in Lagos that professionalism and experience were the major criteria used by the Federal Government to make recent appointments in the aviation industry.

The government recently appointed new chief executives for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT.

Baraje, who gave the clarification while addressing union leaders at NAMA head office in Lagos, said, ‘’What the Federal Government is trying to do now is to look inward by appointing professionals and dedicated management staff with experience in the helm of affairs.”

According to him, the appointment of Engineer Mazi Nnamdi Udoh as the managing director of NAMA is to engender stability and promotion of industrial harmony in the sensitive agency.

He enjoined the union leaders to always work in harmony and cooperate with the new management in order to move the agency forward in the provision of high quality air traffic services in the country, just as he charged them to shun confrontational attitudes in trade union matters.

In his remarks, Engineer Udoh stressed the need for peaceful co-existence between the various unions and management of the agency, based on mutual understanding and pursuit of common ideals.

He said the agency could only operate effectively in a peaceful environment devoid of internal bickering.

Udoh said: ‘’We definitely need to work very hard to restore the agency to the era of peace and harmony.

“I wish to reassure everyone that the management under my watch is committed to the peace process and I want to enjoin the unions to support us in our quest to make NAMA a world class air navigation service provider.”

Responding on behalf of the unions, Comrade Adewale Adekoya and Rita Nna, assured the board chairman and management of the support of the workers, pledging to ensure the success of the new managing director and his team.

Recall that the appointment of parastatal chiefs in the aviation industry from outside the sector in the past had always caused restiveness among the unions and stakeholders.