FG to review aviation policy – minister

The Civil Aviation Policy will be reviewed in order to accommodate the planned policies of government to include a Master Plan aimed at reforming institutions, developing airports into domestic and international hubs, Hadi Sirika, minister of state, aviation, said.

Sirika said this Monday during the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) 2015 World Aviation Forum holding in Montreal, Canada.

This is just as the minister said the Federal Government would support Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, as president of ICAO for another term in office.

According to him, Aliu had nurtured the organisation in its role of being an enabler for the development of international civil aviation, thereby enhancing friendship and understanding among nations and peoples of the world.

He cited some of Aliu’s laudable projects such as the ‘No Country is Left Behind” policy, aimed at providing more direct assistance to states, especially developing countries.

He promised to leverage the office of the president-in-council to deepen development in the country’s aviation industry.

According to the minister, “Nigeria, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, will continue to upgrade and develop aviation infrastructure to improve aviation safety and security, thus creating an enabling environment for growth of airlines and other service providers as well as protecting the interest of aviation end-users.”

In a keynote address, Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, the ICAO president, said it was a key goal for the organisation to assist member states to the fullest extent, possible with respect to the implementation of ICAO standards and policies.

“Only in this way can we ensure that ‘No Country is Left Behind’ and optimise the socio-economic benefits which derive from safe, secure, and reliable air transport in Africa, fully in line with local needs and expectations,” he said.

Marc Garneau, Canadian minister of transport, welcomed delegates and solicited greater collaboration and understanding among nations and peoples of the world.

Several speakers including the Colombian Minster of Transport, the Secretary General of World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), DG of the European Commission as well as China and the US emphasised the connection between the effective implementation of global aviation standards and policies and the social and economic benefits.

The high-powered Nigerian delegation led by the Minister of State, Aviation included the Ja’afar Mohammed Balarabe, Canadian Acting Ambassador, Directors from the Ministry of Aviation and CEOs of aviation parastatals who provided technical support.

The Forum drew participants from 99 countries on its first day.

The Minister who was accompanied by the Acting Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Balarabe Ja’afar Mohammed and top echelon of Nigerian aviation also urged Aliu to continue to take his job in the organisation as a worthy ambassador.

In his response, Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu congratulated Hadi Sirika on his appointment and expressed confidence that he would bring his experience as an aviation expert to bear on his office.

He called for the upgrading of the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, into a regional institution in the African sub region, promising to support such initiative.

It would be recalled that the ICAO president-in-council, Aliu assumed leadership of this global aviation body on November 13, 2013, as the first African to head this global body with membership of almost 200 countries.