EDITORIAL
Ordinarily, the idea of a national carrier is to check the
outrageous fares foreign airlines charge travellers, benefit from the Bilateral
Air Service Agreement (BASA), and have a well-developed sector in the area of
aircraft maintenance, leasing, insurance premium, etc.
Yet, stakeholders in the industry do not feel comfortable
with the manner a national carrier is being foisted on Nigerians by an
administration that is at its twilight. Not only was the process that led to
the arrangement opaque, but it was also obvious the Aviation Minister, Hadi
Sirika, did not carry along important stakeholders.
In principle, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has
repeatedly expressed support for the idea of a national carrier, because the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the
US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and others will take the country more
seriously when we have one. But the AON is not satisfied that the federal
government is going about this idea the right way.
There are several questions about the controlling shares of
49 per cent given Ethiopian Airlines, while the Nigerian government has only
five per cent and other Nigerians including MRS and Skyway Aviation Handling
PLC (SAHCO) have 46 per cent. This curious ownership structure seems to have
ceded control of the sector to a foreign carrier, which is also a competitor in
the Nigerian market.
Available reports indicate that Ethiopian Airlines with 49
per cent would have to provide the managing director of the company, as well as
the directors for finance and engineering. These three positions are the
heartbeats of every airline. Ethiopian Airlines has been able to survive and
succeed largely because of little political interference, so we understand
while they will want these positions.
It should be recalled that one of the major factors that led
to the collapse of Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL) was the appointment of
incompetent and uncommitted managing directors who were chosen more for
political and other sentimental reasons. But many Nigerians are asking the
question: If an Ethiopian becomes the managing director of a Nigerian national
carrier, how do you still call that our national airline? Many Nigerians will
also want to know who owns the 46 per cent and the actual worth of federal
government's five per cent share.
The AON is alleging that the objective of the national
carrier was to drive them out of business by drastically reducing the cost of
ticket for domestic destinations. "The Minister is proposing to have a
15-year tax moratorium to the national carrier. And again, let's be very clear,
this is not a national carrier in the context in which it is being presented;
this is actually a flag carrier," says Roland Iyayi, former NAMA managing
director.
"Simply because if you are bringing in a strategic
investor at 49 per cent stakes and you have all the institutional investors one
of which is 60 per cent owned by a foreign entity, in the long term what you
are putting together is actually a foreign airline being allowed to come into
the Nigeria airspace to operate, which is at variance with Article 7 of the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) convention, which is a
cabotage."
On the whole, there is clear evidence that the process and
mechanics of the establishment of the new national carrier is less than
transparent. For a decision of such national importance, that is rather
disturbing. A national carrier in this age ought to be motivated by
competitiveness and not another cesspool of subsidy. In this regard, the
federal government ought to take into consideration the interests and concerns
of the AON members. We hope it is not too late to revisit these issues. - THISDAY