The Federal Executive Council has approved the signing of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Nigeria and Kuwait.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika revealed this to State House Correspondents, at the end of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said the agreement would open up airline services between the two countries, in accordance with the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
“That memo has to do with the signing of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the State of Kuwait. In that memorandum as approved, the text was earlier on initialled and was cleared by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
“It provided that the content of the agreement should have reciprocal rights and privileges for both countries and airlines involved. This will open up opportunities for air transportation between the two countries, in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) convention of 7th December 1944, to which both countries are signatories,” he said.
Sirika also used the opportunity to debunk claims by a Nigerian national daily, which claims that over N14 billion has been spent on the planned floating of a National carrier for the country.
He however assured citizens that Nigeria Air would be a reality and it would be introduced for the benefit of Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
The Aviation Minister said the Council also approved a contract for the hiring of consultants for revalidation and collection of aviation height clearance for high-rise buildings and masts that can obstruct flight operations in Nigeria.
He added that the contract will run at no cost to the budget because the revenues accrued therein will be used to pay the consultants.
“We got approval for the award of contract for the engagement of consultants for revalidation and collection of aviation height clearance on behalf of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The contract was approved with a scale and at no cost to the budget.
“The revenues derived therefrom will be used to pay the consultants 0-1000, 000,000 7%; 1.1-2.5 billion, 5% and 2.5-5 billion is 3%. For more clarity, the aviation height clearance is extremely important to the safety of air operations. What concerns us in Civil Aviation is how efficient you depart from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’.
“There have been instances in Nigeria where we had air crashes in the past due to communication masts like the one in Jos-Plateau State. Having masts around the airport, or its vicinity or even a building, so long as it causes unsafe operations, that need to be regulated by the NCAA,” he said.
Sirika said going forward; the consultants will go after people with such masts or buildings, to ensure they abide by the regulations.
PIAK
