The federal government at the weekend directed the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Dr. Ibrahim Kana to immediately include representatives of the various workers’ unions in the industry into the committee deliberating the planned concession of airports in the country in order to get their inputs in the discussions.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo gave the directive at a meeting with the unions in Lagos where he assured them that without agreement reached on their status in the concession agreements, he will not present the matter before the federal executive council meeting.

Agitations have pervaded the industry just as the various labour bodies threatened industrial strike in recent times over rumours of a purported draft agreement being paraded for the concession of some airports without their inputs.

But addressing their concerns, Mr. Keyamo assured that the unions must be taken along while their interest must be discussed and agreed upon before the exercise will be carried out.

He said, “I maintained my words that nothing will happen without the unions being carried along and the clear interest of the workers will be taken care of. As I speak with you, I don’t even know what they are negotiating. It is when we get to the point to decide whether we should even continue with those firms, whether they have capacity or not. At that point it will fall back to me because I will be the one that will take the concession document to the federal executive council meeting.

“I will now see all the documentations, business cases and everything and look at it and decide whether it will go to FEC or not and then look if it has taken care of the union or not. At what point do we bring you in, which is just the issue here. However, because we are public officers with nothing to hide, I tell my Special Assistant of Public Private Partnership and the Permanent Secretary that whatever stage they are now on the discussions, whether it is a proposal, whether it is exploratory, bring in the unions now, because there is nothing to hide. Let them report to their members per second.”

The Minister disclosed that President Bola Tinubu is not interested in concessioning the Murtala Muhammed International Airport but is sourcing the funds to redevelop the airport.