By Kenneth Ehigiator

LAGOS – The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE)and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) have give the Federal Government till Wednesday to reverse handover of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited or face nationwide strike.

The Federal Government handed over the terminal to the company, weekend,  despite the protest embarked upon by workers in the industry.

Aviation unions in the country have vowed to make the running of the industry impossible for the government should the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) be handed over to Bi- Courtney Aviation Services.

National President of NUATE, Mohammed Safiyanu Dauda,and his ATSSSAN counterpart, Benjamin Okewu, warned,weekend, that both unions had started mobilising their members across the nation to shut down the airspace on the expiration of the deadline on Wednesday.

Both unions described the hand over of the terminal illegal, stressing that due process was not followed in handing over the terminal.

“If by Wednesday, September 23, the place had been taken over, the whole workers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria will commence strike.

“Thereafter, all other workers in the aviation industry will follow suit because we cannot continue to allow Wale Babalakin to make Nigeria his own personal entity where whatever he wants will sail through, even at the detriment of the people.

“If they continue, we will ground the entire airspace to embarrass the country,” they said.

The union blamed the aviation ministry for wanton disrespect for the rule of law, noting that there was a pending injunction over who owns the GAT at the law court which makes the recent action by government illegal.

According to them, the aviation minister, Babatunde Omotoba, ought to have waited for the law court to determine the suit on the GAT before taking any action.