Nigerian Aviation workers threaten to shut down sector over 50% revenue deduction

The Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, has threatened to ground aviation operations in Nigeria over the Federal government’s 50 per cent internal revenue deduction policy for Ministries, Agencies and Departments, MDAs, and government-owned enterprises.

ATSSSAN’s National Executive Council disclosed this in a recent communique after NEC in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Recall that the Federal Government, in a letter through the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, mandated all MDAs to remit 50 per cent of all their internally generated revenue to the government’s confers.

However, ATSSSAN asked for exempting aviation agencies from the deduction of 50 per cent of their IGR under the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The association said the agencies were not established for profit, adding that stifling them of the required funds would jeopardise the effective performance of their safety and security mandates.

ATSSAN warned that if the federal government insisted on the deduction, thereby compounding the current financial state of the agencies, “we may be forced to direct all aviation workers to down tools until the government reverses itself.”

Last year, through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the government commenced the 50 per cent internally generated revenue deduction from federal government-owned enterprises.