The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has distanced itself from calls for the privatisation of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), declaring that the union has never endorsed such a position.
In a statement issued by the Deputy General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Odinaka Igbokwe, the union described the position taken by its Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) branch as unauthorised and inconsistent with the official stance of the national leadership.
According to the union, the actions of the branch officers do not reflect NUATE’s constitutional position, stressing that it would not allow itself to be drawn into any campaign capable of undermining national security.
NUATE maintained that rather than privatise NAMA, the Federal Government should strengthen the agency financially and institutionally to enable it discharge its critical mandate more effectively.
“NAMA remains the ultimate bulwark of our strength in Nigerian air safety”, the union stated.
Emphasising the strategic importance of air navigation services, NUATE warned that airspace management is too critical to be subjected to commercial interests.
The union stressed that air navigation control and the safety of Nigeria’s airspace are matters of national security and should remain a public responsibility rather than a commercial enterprise.