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.
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.
