The federal government has stated that it turned down around 90 percent of the applications by airline operators for expert quotas in their business.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made the disclosure in his office in Abuja.
Sirika noted that the rejection was basically to make certain that Nigerians are prioritized for such jobs, especially when there are competent citizens who could live up to the positions.
Speaking on the importance to protect jobs in the sector for Nigerians, the minister stated that the ministry of aviation has set up a policy in conjunction with the federal ministry of interior that Nigerians who have the same expertise and proficiency as foreigners will be given preference for highly-skilled jobs.
“In other words, if you bring an A380 aircraft, A350 or a B737 Max, if there is a Nigerian captain who is proficient and competent by his licence to fly, that Nigerian will be considered first,” Sirika said.
“Government is not going to lord it on Nigeria Air how they operate, but we are warning the owners of Nigeria Air that Nigerian jobs are paramount. And this is also for every single airline.
“Daily, I receive applications from airlines, Air Peace, Ibom Air, Max Air, Azman, a lot of them, they apply daily to have expert quotas to bring in people.”
Sirika stated further that when the airlines apply to the ministry of interior, the application will be forwarded to his desk and he would send it to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), “for it to advise us whether the person for that job is not available in Nigeria before I will sign my signature”.
“And I can guarantee you that 90 percent of the applications are rejected. And this policy will be strengthened so that Nigerians will get jobs,” he said.
The minister noted that airlines have been sending applications to the federal government to bring in airplanes into Nigeria on a daily basis. He stated that all requests by the airline operators has been approved since he assumed office.
“We will support every single airline in the country. Since I became minister, there is no one who applies to bring in aircraft and I have refused, not one. And they come in daily,” he said.
“And since I became minister, there are about 20 applications by an aircraft company and I haven’t refused anyone yet. And I don’t think I would have refused any.
“This is because it means growth of our industry, jobs for our people, service for the country, and as social democrats, it is the people that matter.”
Sirika stated that the government has been advising airline operators on the kind of aircraft to use for profitability.
According to him, the profit margin in the airline business is meagerly and as such, operators must use airplanes that consume less fuel and deliver efficient services.
Sirika expressed hope that within the next few quarters, aviation will return as the fastest-growing sector of the Nigerian economy.
