Aviation
Agency Donates Radiation Portal Monitor Equipment To FAAN
Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NNRA), has donated one radiation portal monitor equipment to Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which was installed at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
The Acting Director General, NNRA, Dr Yau Idris, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations,
He explained that the move was to check the illicit trafficking of radioactive materials.
The MoU is on the sharing of operational responsibilities of radiation portal monitor equipment between NNRA and FAAN.
According to him, NNRA will replicate the installation of radiation portal monitor equipment in all the airports in the country to strengthen security.
“We are installing the radiation portal monitor to check the illicit trafficking of radioactive materials because, Nigeria is one of the highest importers of radioactive materials in Africa,” he said.
Idris said the radiation portal monitor equipment donated by European Union with assistance of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos was only to monitor materials going out of Nigeria alone.
“Whatever, however, it is coming to us we don’t have anything to check it whether it is coming in or it is going out.
“So, we have been trying our best to make sure that we procure this radiation monitor porter. Now the time has come to donate one to Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport.
“We have started with Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja (NAIA), we are going to replicate into all our airports, sea ports, land border ports.
“We are going to stop all the radiation sources in the country and also the radiation sources that are coming into the country, “he said.
FAAN Chief Executive Officer, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, thanked the NNRA for the act of benevolence.
Yadudu, who was represented by the FAAN Legal Adviser, Dr Clifford Omozeghian promised that FAAN would strictly follow and sustain all agreements of the MoU.
Yadudu said FAAN would keep deepening its objectives of safety and security.
Aviation
March 28 Rollout: FAAN Directs Airlines Integration Into National Single Window
Aviation
Payment Of Cash: FAAN set February 28 Dateline in Nigeria Airport
Aviation
Aviation Professionals Want Agencies Boards’ Inauguration
As a measure to curb corruption and restore accountability, the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), has called on the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to push for the urgent formation and inauguration of governing boards for all other aviation agencies.
ANAP’s Secretary General, AbdulRasaq Saidu, made this call at the weekend when interacting with aviation correspondents, in reaction to recent inauguration of Board of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Keyamo had recently inaugurated the FAAN board, more than six months after its members were appointed by President Bola Tinubu, where Dr. Umar Ganduje was named Board Chairman, with FAAN’s Managing Director, Olubunmi Kuku, as the Vice Chairman.
Other board members include representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Defence, Tourism, and Aviation, as well as professionals from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, and FAAN’s legal department.
The ANAP scribe there urged the aviation Minister not to stop at FAAN but to ensure that all aviation parastatals are given functional boards to restore order and credibility to the sector.
He, however, commended Keyamo for recently inaugurating the board of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria but stressed that more needed to be done.
Saidu also warned that the continued delay in constituting boards for other aviation agencies creates room for unchecked abuses, including illegal contracts, fraudulent employment practices, and mismanagement.
“The absence of governing boards violates the enabling Acts that established these agencies. Only properly constituted boards can enforce discipline, ensure due process in decision-making, and provide oversight to prevent corruption”, Saidu said.
He emphasised that the aviation unions, including ANAP, have consistently raised concerns about poor governance and lack of transparency within the aviation system.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to act swiftly by appointing board members for all relevant agencies, in the interest of fairness and aviation safety.
Saidu also tackled the former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, for failing to inaugurate any boards during his eight-year tenure, despite appointments being made by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“ANAP raised the alarm several times under Sirika’s leadership, but nothing changed. That lapse has continued under the current administration, and it must be addressed now”, Saidu stated.
By: Corlins Walter
