Aviation unions to protest over 50% IGR deductions

Aviation Unions across the country are set to embark on a peaceful protest on September 18, 2024, to demand an end to the deduction of 50 per cent from the internally generated revenue (IGR) of various agencies in the industry.

In a statement signed by the secretaries General of the unions, the protest which will take place at all airports nationwide, is a response to the failure of the Federal Government to exempt these agencies from the deductions.

The affected agencies, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), the unions say are cost-recovery organizations and not profit-making entities and as such, they cannot survive on half of their incomes, according to the unions.

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The unions claim that some critical safety activities in the agencies are already grinding to a halt due to the deductions, which have been ongoing since the end of August 2024.

The scribes of the unions stated that they had given the Minister of Aviation an ultimatum, which had expired, and are now warning that they will not be held responsible if the industry becomes dysfunctional due to financial incapacity.

The unions have called on all state councils, women commissions, youth councils, and branches nationwide to mobilize and ensure the protest’s success. At the same time, further actions will be decided and communicated if the protest does not achieve the desired result.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.