Nigerian pilots and engineer under the aegis of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) have called on the federal government and airline operators to implement the executive order five, which encourages indigenous professionals to use their expertise to develop Nigeria.
Speaking at the dinner, awards and the unveiling of the NAAPE compendium of 50 outstanding pilots and engineers in Lagos, Abednego Galadima, president of NAAPE said the issue of unemployment of Nigerian pilots and engineers is predominantly among the young ones which poses a challenge.
“Some of our operators are being unpatriotic, instead of engaging the Nigerian hands and giving them opportunities to practice, they bring foreigners and expatriate and sadly, most times these expatriate they bring are equally learning on the job.
“I am calling on the operators to engage the young ones and give them opportunities. This event is aim at creating opportunities for mentoring. This is our own contribution, so that the older ones will bring up the younger ones and have social networking.
“We are talking to the minister to ensure full monitoring on compliance of the executive order number five to ensure that expatriate quotas are not abused. We will continue to sensitise our members in terms of adhering to best practice in flying and maintenance,” Galadima said.
On Nigeria’s achievement of Accident Free Aviation in 2017, the president of NAAPE said NAAPE ensures standard and best conduct among professionals.
He noted that safety consciousness is what the association always instil, which is always reviewed from time to time.
“Nigerian pilots fly all over the world. Accident free aviation is not coming as a surprise to us because it is something we worked hard in ensuring that the rules are adhered to.
Also speaking during the event, Idris Wada, former governor of Kogi state said aviation stakeholders should endeavour to find solution to the frequent collapse of domestic airlines in the country in order to ensure their survival in business.
Wada noted that domestic airlines hardly last for more than a decade stressing that there was the need for experts to find a way out of this frequent collapse.
According to the EAS airline boss, the aviation industry remained a very consuming endeavour, stressing the need for full dedication by stakeholders towards the survival of the industry in the country.
The former Kogi state governor maintained that there was a need to continue working hard in the aviation sector adding that pilots and engineers should be doing things according to procedures and courses as their trainings demand.
IFEOMA OKEKE
