A former President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), Capt. Dele Ore, has said the Federal Government would not need to appoint Transaction Advisers for the successful implementation of its Aviation Sector Roadmap.
Ore made this known during a press briefing on Tuesday in Lagos ahead of the launch of his autobiography, ” The Learned Commander”, scheduled for April 4.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, had unveiled Nigeria’s roadmap for the aviation sector in 2017 which included strengthening of security infrastructure, airports concession, establishment of a national carrier, establishment of a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre and establishment of an Aviation Leasing Company.
With that unveiling, the Federal Government appointed some transaction advisers to midwife the process of actualising the roadmap which aims at making Nigeria a foremost aviation hub in Africa.
But according to Mr Ore, the position of the ART remains that it is unnecessary to appoint transaction advisers when the country has competent experts that are ready to assist the government in bringing the projects to birth.
He stressed that while it was good for the country to have a national or flag carrier, such moves would continue to have challenges until the issue surrounding the former workers of Nigeria Airways was resolved.
Ore, a former Director of Flight Operations at the defunct national carrier, said although government had paid a part of their entitlements, it should go ahead and clear the balance as soon as possible.
According to the pilot turned lawyer, the purpose behind the book was to give insight into the Nigerian aviation industry and how the former national carrier went into oblivion.
For instance, he said Nigeria Airways which once had 32 aircraft in its fleet was mismanaged to the extent that it had less than five serviceable aircraft during its challenging period.
He also said in order to cut cost of operations, the management in one instance sacked 47 pilots to further worsened the airline’s situation.
He, however, blamed undue interference from the successive military governments for the fate which befell Nigeria Airways, noting that the airline had 10 Managing Directors in 15 years.