The
fee currently being charged for using trolleys in Nigerian airports
will soon be abolished, the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika,
has said.
The minister made the disclosure on Friday in Abuja at
the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Assessment of Security
Situation in Nigeria’s Airports.
According to Mr. Sirika, payment
for trolleys would stop as soon as the current contractual agreement on
the handling of trolleys was over.
He explained that the
arrangement could not be unilaterally terminated as it could lead to
litigation, adding that the contract would not be renewed as soon as it
runs its course.
The Minister disclosed that there were petitions
by some users who claimed that trolleys were covered by certain taxes
and charges paid by passengers.
“We have had discussions with FAAN
on this and we have decided that as soon as this contract ends, we will
return back to the old system”, he said.
Mr. Sirika also assured
that government would soon start the implementation of recommendations
on the establishment of a new national carrier, adding that President
Muhammadu Buhari demonstrated his favourable disposition to the move by
setting up a committee for it, even before appointing his ministers.
According to him the committee had since submitted its report which had also been forwarded to the ministry for further action.
“The
committee has done its work and its reports and recommendations have
been forwarded to us; it is in the ministry and we are working on it.
“I
want to tell you that we are on it and I want to add that within my
purview of the management of this ministry, the committee report will
not be swept under the carpet.
“It will be implemented and anywhere we do not agree, we will indicate so.
“We will be modest and courteous enough to inform the members of the committee and the public about it”, he said.
Mr.
Sirika said Nigeria was not doing badly in the area of aviation
security, adding that the country scored 92.6 per cent in the last
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Audit.
He said
that the inauguration of the security assessment committee was
necessitated by the quest for perfection and the determination to close
the 7.4 per cent gap that could harm the industry.
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