The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has revealed that the Federal Government lost 82 percent which is equivalent to N10 billion in revenue that ought to accrue from airport tollgates under old rules.

Keyamo revealed this to State House correspondents during the week at the end of a two-day meeting of the Federal Executive Council.

The minister lamented that the ministry accumulated 82 percent in the negative from the complimentary e-tags printed by the ministry, noting that 82 percent of the e-tags are given free of charge to VIPs.

He stated, “Let me give you the shocking statistics. The negative figure that we get at the end of the day from the complimentary e-tags is 82 percent, in the negative.

“In other words, where we are supposed to have a 100 per cent contract on the e-costs from these e-tags that we print, it is only 18 per cent that we now end up selling. That is how bad it is. 18 per cent and 82 per cent of these e-tags are given out free of charge to VIPs. So, imagine the loss in my sector, and I ask myself,Which other sector will I go to that they give me anything free?’

“Is it because I’m a VIP that you say that in FCT, I should not pay land charges that you waive it for me? I pay for that sector. I pay for power. Yes, I pay for everything. So, why would anybody now come to my own sector and want to get free passage? Not possible. That is how bad it is.”

He added that free e-tags to the VIPs had in the past led to the loss of billions of naira

“So this has led in the past to loss of billions of naira, not millions, annually. Yet, our airport infrastructure, you know, is decaying. I am helpless. I’m looking for concessionaires. I’m looking for help with decaying infrastructure.

“They will be the first to cry out, these same VIPs – ‘why are the toilets like this? Why are your toilets smelling? Why can’t you do this?’ They are the same people, but they don’t pay for the services. So, if we want improved infrastructure at the airport, we must pay for services,” he said.

The minister lamented that due to the policy of exemption, the ministry makes only about N100 million instead of making about N260 million from a particular airport gate every month.

“I’ll give you another example. In one of the access gates, based on the count of the barrier going up and down, we are supposed to be making N250m or 260 million from that gate every month. That gate, because of exemptions, the return to us is less than N100 million every month,” he added.

To end the loss, the FEC decided that the president, vice president, and other top government functionaries would start paying access fees or the e-tag at all 24 federal airports across the country.

Prior to this development, the president, vice president, and some government officials were exempted from paying access fees at the airports’ gates.

Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) PLC’s Kano station has been re-certified by International Air Transport Association (IATA).

 The re-certification was issued to SAHCO after it passed the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) standards audit conducted on the company in Kano.

The IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) is an aviation specific audit for the global oversight of ground handling service providers (GHSPs). ISAGO focuses on the standardisation of operational procedures and management thereby increasing harmonisation of best practices among the ground handling stakeholders.

By this re-certification, it means that SAHCO’s Mallam Aminu Kano’s International Airport station has continued to model its operations to ISAGO standards, as a result making a commitment to continue to operate to globally accepted industry best practices.

The Audits cut across Organisation and Management (ORM), Load Control (LOD), Passenger and Baggage Handling (PAB), Aircraft Handling and Loading (HDL), Aircraft Ground Movement (AGM), Cargo and Mail Handling (CGM).

As already pledged to its clients (current and prospective), it is SAHCO’s resolve to continually provide quality and efficient Passenger, Ramp and Cargo Handling Services in line with best practices and the highest International Standards to the delight of its customers and benefit of all stakeholders, utilising State-of-the-art equipment, skills, procedures and facilities, and employing a dedicated workforce who are highly skilled.

ISAGO audit is essential to promote safe ground operations and understanding of high-risk areas within ground operations, the audit also eliminates redundant audits from airlines thereby promoting a uniform audit process and harmonized standards that improve quality standards in Aviation Ground Handling.

The duties of SAHCO involve all the actions that take place from the time an aircraft touches down on the tarmac to the time it is airborne, also ensuring that Ground Handling assignment is carried out in an efficient, speedy and safe manner, while deploying the right tools.

By Jeleel Olawale

No fewer than five 100l students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife were on Thursday injured when the Amphitheater collapsed on them by the heavy rainfall in the morning while the students were taking SER001 Class in Ile-Ife in the morning.

According to a student who was one of the survivors, Babatunde Damilare said, the ceiling in the Amphitheater fell on the students which resulted in the incident.

The students had told the lecturer while the lecture was ongoing to end the class when the heavy rain enveloped the whole Amphitheater. The lecturer did not stop the class until part of the building collapsed on them.

A release by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, said the torrential rainfall of early Thursday morning, accompanied with a whirlwind, which started as students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, were having a lecture, SER to be precise, in the Amphitheatre of the Oduduwa Hall, affected the ceiling of the Amphitheatre as it fell off and injured a few of the students.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire led other principal officers to the Medical and Health Centre of the University, and ensured that the injured students were given adequate medical attention.

The statement stated that the Vice-Chancellor also followed two other students, whose cases demanded more medical attention to the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), where the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Professor John Okeniyi, physically supervised the proceedings.

The Vice-Chancellor has, therefore, appealed for calm and urged students and staff to go about their academic and administrative activities without any form of untoward action.

Meanwhile, the management of the University has sealed off the amphitheatre, the venue of the unfortunate incident, until further notice.

Also, the president of the Students Union, Comrade Abbas Akinremi said, the incident of ceiling collapse occurred at the Amphitheater of Oduduwa Hall of the university which has never occured in the history of the institution.

“The place is always being used for social events. Nothing of such happened. He said the situation has been stable as normalcy has since been returned to the institution.

“The institution management has been on top of the incident. The Vice-Chancellor really took proactive steps in ensuring that normalcy has returned to the institution. He has visited the injured students at the University health centre before they were referred to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital,” he said.

Abbas debunked the rumour that a roof collapsed as it’s being circulated around.

He said that it was part of the ceiling that fell on some students, five of whom have been taken to the University health centre, while the most critical two were taken to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC).

According to him, the affected students had been adequately treated and were all stable, thanking God for no casualty.

He urged school management to continue monitoring and ensure maintenance of lecture building, hostels for the safety of staff and the students.