Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Hundreds of aviation workers, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, Monday, staged a peaceful demonstration, rejecting the intention of the Federal Government to privatize four international airports across the country.
The airports, according to the Federal Government, are the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, Port – Harcourt International Airport and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.
The aviation workers, which were drawn from the National Union of Air Transport Employees(NUATE) , National Association of Aviation Professionals, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (AISSSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, among others, declared that the plan to concede these airports would end up enriching the so -called investors and their allies at the expense of Nigerians.
They chanted solidarity songs with the premises of the airport and carried different placards that conveyed their displeasure. One of the placards read that, ” When injustice beckons the law, resistance becomes a duty”
Mohammed Zakaria, Chairman of the National Union of Air Transport Employees(NUATE ), who addressed the media on behalf of all the groups, said that the idea would breed poverty, pains and job losses for aviation workers.
He recalled that similar privatizations of the National Electricity Power Authority, Nigeria Railway Corporation(NRC) , Nigeria Airways and Nigeria Telecommunications Limited(NITEL) only led to job losses and hardship but little returns for Nigerians.
He insisted that the so – called private investors, who are gearing to lash on public wealth, would not be able match the amount of money they are currently generating for the Federal government.
He counseled that if they are truly desirous of building world- class airports as they claimed, there are many virgin locations across the Nigeria for them to invest their resources and energy in
He appealed to the Federal Government to immediately suspend the decision to sell these airports in the interest of Nigerians and in the interest of the workers at the airport. End.