Nigeria has not endorsed any candidate for the Council Presidency of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
This clarification is coming on the heels of some media reports suggesting that Nigeria has backed the candidate from the United Arab Emirate (UAE) for the ICAO top job.
A statement signed by the Deputy Director, Press & Public Affairs, Federal Ministry of Transportation (Aviation), James A. Odaudu, said, “Nigeria has not taken a decision on any of the candidates, and as a major player in the aviation community, will make her choice of candidate at the appropriate time, as it had always done.
“For the purpose of clarification, what the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika said during the visit of the UAE Ambassador and the country’s ICAO Council Representative to canvass for Nigeria’s support was that in supporting any of the candidates, Nigeria will join hands with other member-nations “to enthrone someone with the capacity to build on the lofty achievements of the outgoing Council President, Dr Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu”.
According to the statement, the minister had also remarked that “regulating the world of aviation is no joke and I don’t think the world is ready to handover to those who may not be able to deliver the expectation of the world of aviation”.
“It has everything to do with experience of a person, the character of the person, the content of the person, acceptability and understanding of the workings of ICAO and the global aviation system in general” the minister had said.
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