The offer, it said, is grossly inadequate to make any meaningful impact or relieve the impact of Covid-19 on the industry.
This decision was made at the public hearing on six executive bills aimed at fine-tuning regulatory issues as well as effective management of agencies in the Nigerian aviation industry on Monday.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in November 2019, transmitted six aviation sector bills to the Senate for consideration and passage into law.
Some of the legislations are the bill for an Act to repeal and enact the Civil Aviation Act; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Bill, 2019 and Nigerian College of Airspace Management Agency (Establishment) Bill, 2019;
Others are Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (Establishment) Bill, 2019; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Establishment) Bill, 2019 and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (Establishment) Bill, 2019.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had told the panel about the federal government’s plan to provide N4 billion for airline operators and another N1 billion for other business owners in the aviation sector as part of its intervention to cushion the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision, he said, was based on the recognition of the pivotal role of the aviation sector to the Nigerian economy.
But the chairman of the committee, Smart Adeyemi, maintained that the fund is far less than is required for them to finance aircraft maintenance and retain their workers.
“I do not think that N4 billion is what we are talking about. I think the federal government should give the industry all the attention it deserves; substantive support. Four billion is not enough. Yes, you might say they are in business; but their business is the soul of our economy.”
Mr Adeyemi further urged the government to provide sufficient bailout to the airline operators to avoid them “cutting corners” in their operations – “the implication of which is better imagined,” he said.
Speaking to journalists after the hearing, the minister agreed with the Senate over the low offer for bailout funds but noted that it is what the federal government can afford. This, he said, is because both the ministry and many other agencies are “currently struggling.”
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