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The Federal Ministry of Aviation has denied media reports that last week’s visit by Acting President Yemi Osinbanjo to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport caused the sacking of some directors in the aviation agencies.
A statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director, Publicity and Press, James Odaudu, explained that Osinbajo’s visit was to inspect the facilities at the airport.
He said the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, accompanied Osinbajo on the visit.
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Odaudu said: “It must be made clear that the link between the two events has no basis, as the reorganisation in the agencies was part of an ongoing process to reposition them to properly and adequately carry out their regulatory mandates.”
He condemned the media report, which linked the acting president’s visit with the reorganisation at the agencies.
He stated that the Federal Government placed aviation on its top priority list that needed to be reorganised and repositioned to contribute more to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Odaudu stressed that the repositioning was also important to develop the sector as a sub-regional hub for air transportation
He said it was an error of judgment to attribute the reorganisation to Osinbajo’s visit
“Practitioners in the media industry are therefore advised to always crosscheck their information before going to press, to avoid unnecessary controversies and misinformation to the public,” the statement reads.
It would be recalled that all the directors of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were last Friday sacked by the Federal Government. Two of them have, however, be recalled.
