Retired top officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) have formally unveiled the Former Airport Administrators Network (FAANET), a professional body aimed at contributing their vast experience to the continuous improvement of airport administration and aviation development in Nigeria.
The newly established organisation has Comrade Jolly Ndidi, retired General Manager (Human Resources), FAAN, as its pioneer Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT), while Comrade Adetomiwa Kolawole, retired General Manager (Credit Control), FAAN, serves as the Secretary.
Other pioneer BOT members include:
Engr. Sadiq Tijjani (Retired Director of Engineering Services), FAAN; Hajia Salamatu Umar-Eluma (Retired Director of Human Resources), FAAN; Alhaji Ibrahim Sulaiman (Retired General Manager), FAAN; Comrade Awolowo Okogbo (Retired officer, ARFFS), FAAN; Mrs. Nwokoye Angela (Retired officer, Operations Directorate), FAAN.
Speaking on the debut of FAANET, Ndidi disclosed that the body is duly registered and recognised by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and is poised to play an active role in shaping policies and promoting best practices in airport administration across the country.
He commended the current management and staff of FAAN for notable infrastructural upgrades and process improvements at Nigerian airports, while urging the federal government to adequately fund FAAN to enable the delivery of world-class, state-of-the-art airport facilities and services.
Ndidi further called on retired airport administrators and veterans in the aviation sector to actively participate in FAANET’s various organs, stressing that their collective experience remains invaluable to national development.
In a statement issued by the Board of Trustees, FAANET explained its motivation for formation:
“We saw the need to give a voice to the collateral wealth of knowledge we have garnered in our service to our fatherland, as airport administrators spanning many years, in order to connect the past with the present”.
The BOT chairman noted that it would be unfair to a nation that invested heavily in their growth for veterans to remain passive, emphasising that FAANET will help sharpen systems, offer practical solutions to challenges in the aviation sector, and contribute from experiential perspectives and rich institutional memory.
The Trustees also expressed gratitude to several other aviation veterans for their support towards the successful registration of FAANET.
They congratulated all FAAN veterans on the formal registration of FAANET, describing the development as a significant step toward strengthening Nigeria’s aviation sector through experience-driven leadership.