The Chairman of the Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria, Olaniyi Adigun, has stated that reliable data tracking activity and achievement is essential for the industry to overcome the many obstacles it faces today in the nation.
In addition, he said the need for collaboration and consolidation cannot be overemphasised in the journey to achieve prosperity in the Nigerian aviation sector, according to The Punch.
This was disclosed by Adigun during a meeting with aviation stakeholders recently held in Lagos, disappointed that the industry was not yet viewed as a crucial business like what was being done in other places.
He emphasized that the financial sector, which had developed via collaboration, consolidation, and partnership, was a good example for the industry to follow.
He insisted that the industry may collapse if the collaboration was consistently abandoned, explaining that no organization or airline could successfully run alone due to the rapidly rising exchange rate.
“It is not rocket science that the industry is where it is today; the dollar is rising against the naira. We all need to know that aviation is a business, and when we talk about business, we talk about profitability and data collection. How do we sustain the Nigerian aviation business? We need to have an economic summit where we open the doors to investors; we need to open up. What are these challenges facing us? This is very important. We cannot continue to stand alone.
“Secondly, are we trading among ourselves? We are not! I can have an Automated Teller Machine card from a particular bank and use it in another bank’s ATM. If I book, for instance, with Aero Contractors, can I use it on Air Peace? We don’t have such a close relationship. We need to collaborate among ourselves.
‘Yes, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development can advocate for dry leasing and not welcome wet leasing, but the fact is, are the operators doing business among ourselves? There is the need for us to look inward, collaborate, consolidate and stand together,” he noted.
Adigun questioned why, given the number of government organizations in the sector, obtaining sufficient data has grown to be a challenging task.
According to him, government agencies in the sector release different data to investors, stressing that without authentic data gathering, the Nigerian aviation industry would continue to grope in the dark.
“I was very happy when someone spoke about data. You can’t do business without data. The CBN forecasts in the banking industry and it can tell you the growth or diminishing rates in the sector, but, who is doing that in the aviation industry?
“How do we get the data? And without data, you cannot do business at all. It is good for us to look inward and talk figures. Aviation is about business. What you sell is about air safety and security,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Umar Farouk emphasized the requirement that the organization increase the amount it charges for en route navigation from N2,000 and N6,000 to N18,000 and N54,000 for each trip.
According to Farouk, NAMA spent more than N12 billion on capital expenses, over N10 billion on overhead, and roughly N21 billion on personnel costs alone in 2023.
