50% IGR deduction: Aviation unions suspend planned airport protest
By Seun Ibiyemi
The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has announced that the planned airport protest scheduled to be held on 18th September 2024 has been suspended.
The aviation unions across the country had earlier announced their intention to embark on a peaceful protest on September 18, 2024, to demand an end to the deduction of 50 per cent from the internally generated revenue (IGR) of various agencies in the industry.
In an earlier statement signed by the secretaries General of the unions, the protest which was supposed to take place across all airports nationwide, was in response to the failure of the Federal Government to exempt these agencies from the deductions.
However, in a letter signed by the general secretary of NAAPE, Olayinka Olu Abioye and addressed to members of the union on Tuesday, he stated that consequent upon information available to the association about the ongoing discussion by higher authorities over the continued deduction of 50 per cent by the Federal government, the planned protest has been suspended.
Abioye said the protest is suspended pending the outcome of the discussions which shall be communicated to everyone.
Recall that, on Sept. 11, an agreement was reached by all members of aviation workers’ unions to embark on a nationwide peaceful protest at all airports over the deduction.
The unions are NAAPE, Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, National Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees.
The unions want discontinuation of the 50 percent deduction from the coffers of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.
The unions said that the aviation agencies were not profit-making.
