Chinedu Eze
There is a growing internal crisis in the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) over the jostle for more funds from the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) between the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
The National Assembly is in the process of reallocating the sharing formula of the revenues that accrue from TSC that run into billions of naira per annum, which is shared among five aviation agencies.
The National Assembly is considering reducing the percentage of what NCAA gets from the revenue from 56 per cent to 40 per cent, while it plans to increase that of NAMA from 22 per cent to 40 per cent and this has created rift between the two agencies.
Reacting to this, NAAPE NCAA branch last week issued a statement, warning that reducing what NCAA earns from the TSC would deny the agency the needed funds to continue to effectively regulate the industry, which may jeopardise air safety.
But the national body of NAAPE countered the NCAA branch and said it was not opposed to the reduction of the percentage allocated to NCAA from the five per cent TSC.
However, NAAPE NCAA branch issues another statement yesterday signed by the Chairman NAAPE, NCAA branch, Comrade Diepreye Stephen Saburugha and Secretary NAAPE, NCAA Branch, Comrade Celestine Nkemakolam Chukwu, saying that it maintained its earlier position, insisting that the authority’s statutory 56 per cent share from the TSC must not be tampered with.
The statement from the NAAPE NCAA branch clarified that it takes responsibility of the position it has taken and it did not presume that it was the position of the national body.
“At the outset, we wish to state categorically that the article published by the NCAA Branch was exactly what it was presented to be: the position of the NAAPE NCAA Branch. At no point was it described, presented or represented as the official position of the National Executive Council, the National Administrative Council or the National Association as a whole.
“Every publication clearly identified its source as the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), NCAA Branch, and was duly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Branch. There was therefore no attempt, whether directly or indirectly, to attribute the publication to the National Body,” NAAPE, NCAA branch said.
It further explained that the issue before the National Assembly was one that directly affects the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, the organisation in which members of the NCAA Branch work, and whose interests the Branch Executive Committee is constitutionally mandated to protect.
“Indeed, the Constitution of NAAPE could not have been clearer. Article 3.6.6 provides that the Branch Executive Committee ‘shall provide leadership at the level of the organisation, ensure total unionisation of all eligible members in its organisation, ensure that all matters affecting the interest of members are effectively handled, and generally protect the interest of the Association at the Branch.’ The operative word used by the Constitution is ‘shall.’ This is not a discretionary power. It is a mandatory constitutional obligation. The proposed amendment to the Civil Aviation Act seeks to reduce the statutory funding of the NCAA from 56% of the Ticket Sales Charge to 40 per cent,” the statement noted.
NAAPE, NCAA branch also pointed out that proposal to reduce NCAA revenue from the 5% TSC directly affects the financial sustainability of the Authority, the welfare of its workforce, the implementation of its approved Conditions of Service, the ability of inspectors to perform safety oversight functions, and ultimately the interests of every member of the NCAA Branch.
It also added that if there was ever a matter that fell squarely within the constitutional responsibility of the Branch Executive Committee to “ensure that all matters affecting the interest of members are effectively handled,” this is undoubtedly one of them.
The statement dismissed the request of the national body that NAAPE, NCAA branch ought to have sought approval from the national body before issuing the statement.
It asserted, “The National Body has suggested that the Branch ought to have obtained the authorisation or approval of the National Executive Council before issuing its publication. With utmost respect, no such requirement exists anywhere in the Constitution of the Association. The powers and functions of the National Executive Council are clearly provided for under Article 3.2 of the Constitution.”