The Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), umbrella body of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) in the country, has directed its members to comply with the planned nationwide protest called by aviation unions.
The unions had earlier in the week, through a circular, directed their members to embark on a protest throughout the nation’s airports on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, following the continuous deductions of 50 per cent of aviation agencies’ Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs) by the Federal Government.
The government had compelled the agencies to contribute 50 per cent of their IGRs into the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Four aviation agencies are affected by the TSA policy. They are; the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT).
A statement on Saturday morning by Abayomi Agoro, President, NATCA, said that considering these developments, NATCA’s Council had placed all ATCs on notice to join the protest effective from “00:00 hours on September 18, 2024.
Agoro directed all controllers to comply with the instructions from its mother union until further notice.
Agoro lamented that the affected agencies are financially constrained due to the deductions, thereby rendering the sector dysfunctional.
He insisted that the policy was severely undermining the safety and efficiency of Nigeria’s aviation sector since it started about three years ago and the contributions increased to 50 per cent in January this year.
The statement warned that the safety-critical activities of the entire aviation sector were slowly grinding to a halt, reaching levels that are unacceptable.
Agoro appealed to the Federal Government to act swiftly by exempting aviation agencies from the IGR deduction policy and address the financial challenges threatening the safety and functionality of Nigeria’s airspace.
