Three weeks after he was sworn-in as the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, the former boss of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, is yet to hit the ground running and is giving excuses at press conferences. On Monday, after inspecting facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for the first time since he assumed office on 23 July, Chidoka scheduled a press conference at the Sheraton Hotel on Tuesday.
During the press conference, journalists asked the minister about 15 questions, including what he was doing to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus at Nigerian airports. There have been reports that health officials were not present at all the international airports in the country, and passengers from some countries are given preferential treatement and are not being screened.
The minister took all the questions, answered none and told journalists he would get back to them. He thanked them for giving him new ideas and promised to get answers soon. Attempts to get some answers from him proved futile. Few minutes after, the press conference was over and the minister was off to Abuja, where he has been for the past three weeks.
Such an initial flop does not give much hope about the seriousness of purpose many had expected since Chidoka replaced Stella Oduah who was removed in February, following series of scandals and allegations of high handedness. Since Chidoka became aviation minister, many articles from journalists and other stakeholders have been published.
Some of these articles raised issues regarding the civil aviation policy, the dearth of manpower in the sector, the independence of the aviation agencies, the unfair advantage of foreign airlines over domestic carriers, the issues of corruption, lawlessness, safety and the national carrier. There were many other issues raised, including the spread of the Ebola virus at Nigerian airports.
It is, therefore, incomprehensible that weeks after he assumed office, and after those issues were raised, the new aviation minister does not seem to have a clue on his policy direction, and does not also have answers to any of the questions Nigerians are asking.
It is our opinion that when a minister, who has been consulting with stakeholders for three weeks, decides to meet with journalists, he has something meaningful to say to the Nigerian people. We don’t want to believe that this minister would be slow or end up like many other aviation ministers before him: derided and unsung.
To avoid such ignominious end, we call on Chidoka to sit up and start addressing pressing issues in the aviation sector immediately. Oduah spent her tenure remodelling Nigerian airports. Some ministers before her focused on safety. Chidoka should tell us what he would like to be remembered for.
Source: PM News Editorial
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