To avoid further breach of security at airports nationwide, Secretary General Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu has called on government to immediately commence total overhaul of security at airport.
Saidu who spoke in apparent reference to an intruder – a Nigerian who climbed an AZMAN Air aircraft at the Lagos Airport last Friday said the development not only embarrassed the country , but put Nigerian aviation under global spotlight.
Speaking in an interview in Lagos at the weekend, Com. Saidu lamented that those in authorities have not learned various calls and warnings from unions to recruit aviation security and fire personnel in a transparent way.
Saidu said the unions have been vindicated with the ugly, disgraceful and embarrassing incident saying it has ridiculed the country before the International communities.
The ANAP scribe who raised alarm on the on going recruitment of security and fire rescue personnel exercise in Kaduna called for a halt while all serving aviation security personnel must be immediately profiled by the government.
According to him, the process of recruitment has been bastardised without following the International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements on the exercise.
Saidu noted that the country would have been thrown into mourning assuming the suspect was on a suicide mission and called for serious caution.
While commending the Managing Director of FAAN for admitting their lapses, Saidu said all those involved should be properly interrogated and investigated.”Everybody on duty that very day should explain how and what happened and must be dealt with accordingly. It is a challenge and a bad signal to the International community”
He noted that security lapses at the airport gradually started eroding in the past four years when the process of recruiting Avsec was politicised with politicians taking over recruitment without regards to the operations, safety and security and standards.
He said the incident has justified unions position on recruitment into sensitive positions in aviation parastatals adding unfit candidates over the age of 30 years were being presently recruited in Kaduna saying it was not in the interest of the industry but that of politicians.
Saidu warned politicians not to allow politics to override safety in the employment of security personnel in the aviation sector saying that the former minister, Hadi Sirika misplaced priority by putting concession above safety.
He condemned the plan by Sirika saying that the terminal building of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport will be demolished warning that nothing of such should be allowed to happen and will be highly opposed by all the unions.
Saidu said so many things went wrong under the former minister assuring workers that the union will restrict further unhealthy policies from ministers .
