Unions in the aviation industry have taken on the federal government for deducting 50 per cent from the internally generated revenue of some aviation agencies as well as the retention of the agencies in the treasury single account regime.
The president of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Mr Illitrus Ahmadu said in his welcome address at the national executive council meeting of the body held in Ibadan, Oyo State at the weekend that the general secretaries of the major unions in the sector would meet this week to deliberate on the issue and give feedback to the presidents of their unions.
The TSA, which was introduced on October 15, 2022, commenced with 25 per cent deductions from all revenue generating agencies of the federal government, including four agencies in the aviation sector.
However, some months later, the deduction was increased to 40 per cent, while President Bola Tinubu in January 2024, moved it to 50 per cent.
Ahmadu said the new deduction regime had commenced and feared that it may have dire effects on the agencies’ finances.
Four aviation agencies affected by the TSA policy are the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT).
Illitrus argued that the agencies in the sector were not revenue generating organisations and wondered why they should be treated as such.
He also warned that if the aviation agencies were not yanked off the TSA, it may affect the forthcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) security audit.
Ahmadu further said the continuous deduction of the agencies’ funds is against the ICAO Document 1982 on charges and cost recovery.
According to him, the document specifies that charges imposed on organisations in the sector should be to recover costs, not necessarily to make profit, stressing that the agencies have been following this document to the letter.
“This issue to me is an existential one in the industry. We have been on this matter and have written several letters in the past to the government, explaining why the aviation agencies should be removed from the remittance of their IGRs under the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Our reasons are very clear. In aviation, what we do as government agencies, we don’t make profit per se, we charge for services.
“We took this issue with the out gone minister, Hadi Sirika and the moment Mr. Festus Keyamo was appointed as the new minister, we tabled this matter before him and in our interactions, he gave us his words that something was going to be done about it.
“…The implementation of that 50 per cent has commenced and the agencies are groaning because of the dire consequences. Worst of it all is that their accounts were blocked and another TSA account was opened for them. They were unable to access funds to service their various operations. Agencies like NAMA, NCAA, NCAT. Even where students’ school fees go into, which include feeding money, the 50 per cent is deducted.
“We hope that in the next one week, we should be able to take a position to communicate to the government and if nothing is done, we may be forced to embark on a protest in the future. The decision will be made in the next one week,” he said.
