Aviation Ministry boils over non-approval of workers’ allowances
Problem seems to be brewing in the Ministry of Aviation over the non-approval of allowances and dues of workers, including training of personnel of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria, abroad by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr. Shua’ra Jamila.
A source from the ministry revealed that the permanent secretary had bluntly refused to convey approval as directed by the supervising minister of aviation, especially on the NCAT matter.
The source explained that trouble started when the Perm Sec resumed and stopped all earlier financial approval made by the former aviation minister, Princess Stella Oduah, and declined to pay all approved financial allowances and dues, but when approached by the ministry’s union leaders on the need to pay the approved allowances and dues, the Perm Sec agreed and assured the union leaders that she would pay but not all, especially those before 2013.
Investigation revealed that the supervising minister, Dr Samuel Ortom got wind of the workers’ ordeal and intervened to calm down the angry workers, but the Perm Sec has declined to pay the approved financial obligations.
It was gathered that recently, Dr Ortom approved recurrence training for the staff of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria; but Mrs Jamila turned down the approval declaring that the federal government had stopped training of personnel abroad, as she bluntly refused to convey approval as directed by the minister.
The source said the Perm Sec from all indications came into the ministry with the notion that federal government had banned foreign trainings; but this is not applicable to the aviation industry because training in the industry is mostly recurrence and done abroad due to the sensitive nature of the sector.
Some of the workers who spoke on condition of anonymity wondered why the permanent secretary would be behaving like this, adding that she is an inexperienced civil servant with her first assignment as perm sec in aviation ministry.
They observed that the ministry would have by now been engulfed in serious crisis but for the mature way the minister has handled the situation.
There are indications that unions in the ministry are ready and mobilising for a show down with the permanent secretary as a result of her refusal to approve staff training for both local and foreign training and her attempt to convert money meant for monitoring to training.
It was revealed that she attempted to change all the capital projects in the budget in order to make airports in the country an eyesore.
Efforts to get union leaders to comment on the development proved abortive as they declined comment on the issue; but one of them who pledged anonymity said any attempt by the permanent secretary to cripple the aviation sector in the country would be resisted and that they would make the ministry ungovernable for Mrs Jamila.
Culled from Pilot