The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, on Wednesday, said the Federal Government would no longer tolerate strikes and riots around airports in the country because it is against the law of the land.
The Minister also apologised to air travellers whose flights were disrupted by striking workers of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) on Monday.
The Minister said, while addressing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, vowed to enforce the section of the Civil Aviation Act (2022), which disallowed employees from embarking on strike actions that would disrupt flight operations in the future.
He said, “First, we apologise to our teeming passengers in this difficult moment. Secondly, this will not happen in the future by the grace of God. And the reason is simple, aviation is an essential service. The Act has been passed by Mr President, so strikes and riots around our airports are prohibited by the laws of the land. We will ensure no essential service is being disrupted by anybody no matter how aggrieved.”
Recall that on Monday, workers of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), protesting poor salaries by their employer, disrupted flights at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Sirika, however, said such action would no longer be tolerated by the government.
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