MINISTER OF AVIATION, PRINCESS STELLA ODUAH
SAN FRANCISCO, October 08, (THEWILL) – The Senate on Tuesday summoned the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, and chief executive officers of parastatals in the ministry.
They include the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
They are to appear before the Senate Committee on Aviation to explain the recent Associated Airline plane crash in Lagos and other near-accidents recorded in the country in the last one week.
The Senators relied on Section 67(2) of the 1999 Constitution in issuing the summons.
Citing a recent published report, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe stated at the plenary that a 2009 Associated Airlines report had detailed fraud in the maintenance of the Embraer 120 twin prop aircraft (5N-BJY) which plunged to earth less than three minutes after take-off from Lagos Airport, leaving 16 of the 20 people on board dead.
Also, Senator Smart Adeyemi made startling disclosures that the Associated Airlines Flight 5N-BJY was on a “test flight” to Akure but was “corruptly” deployed for the airlift of passengers and the remains of former Ondo Stage governor, Olusegun Agagu.
Again, the Senate Committee on Aviation is to “as a matter of urgency” investigate the cause(s) of last Thursday’s Associated Airlines crash and ascertain the level of compliance by the relevant agencies with the recent resolution of the Senate on the Dana Air Crash on air safety.
The resolution and debate are sequel to a motion sponsored by Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, on the recent plane crash.
Leading the debate, Uzodinma pointed out that; “The resurgence of plane crashes in the country since 2011 is suggestive of a deep-seated systemic problem that must be unraveled and resolved in other to avert further and unnecessary loss of lives
For Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the relevant authorities should; “Stop playing politics with the lives of people.”
In other contributions, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said: “This is one of the moments we are proud of the Senate, today we spoke as representatives of the Senate and not as politicians irrespective of our party affiliations. The life of every Nigerian must count. In some parts of the world people resign when such things happen and in some cases, people even commit suicide. The problem is the issue of safety standard and not about the planes. Aviation is an international business and the problem we have here is people who enforce the standards and the National Assembly must make sure every regulation is enforced.
“I think the time had come to invoke the power to invite the Minister or agencies to come and explain and the essence of calling is not to indict but to partner with the National Assembly. We must ensure compliance with standards. ”
Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi said “It is the failure of leadership in the aviation sector that has resulted in the catalog of crashes. There has been seven crashes in 48 months and we still have a Minister of Aviation who is saying the aviation industry has been doing well. This is wrong, the Senate must act with effectiveness in its oversight functions. It is a sorry state and that is the truth. ”
On his part, Senator Bukola Saraki said: “Nothing has been done on previous report on crashes the greatest respect to pay to the dead is to prevent this from happening and ensure that people are held responsible and accountable. We must begin to hold people responsible. If an airline is suspended let us make sure they stay suspended. ”
Nigeria, the motion noted, has witnessed a record of seven fatal air mishaps and two averted crashes from 2011 till date.
Crash records:
Allied Airlines (Cargo Aircraft), crashed on June 2, 2012 in Accra, Ghana killing 10 people on the ground.
Dana Airlines crashed on June 3, 2012 in Lagos, killing 153 persons on board.
Nigeria Police Force Helicopter crashed March 23, 2012, killing Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), John Haruna and three officers on board and several other people in Kabong Village, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Odenegene Air Services (OAS Helicopter) crashed on a flight to Akure in 2012, killing all on board.
Taraba State governor’s aircraft crashed in Adamawa State while attempting to land on October, 2012 injuring the Taraba Governor, Danbaba Suntai, and others.
Associated Airlines crashed on October 3, 2013 in Lagos, killing 16 persons on board with four injured.
Augusta 109 helicopter crashed in Bayelsa State, killing the former National Security Adviser (NSA) General Azazi, and Kaduna State Governor, Patrick Yakowa, two Naval pilots and two aides on December 15, 2012.
Kabo aircraft conveying Sokoto pilgrims crash averted on October 4, 2013.
Maxi aircraft conveying Taraba
BY EMMA UCHE, ABUJA
