Since the past four weeks, there have been unconfirmed reports that the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma will soon proceed on retirement leave, having attained 35 years of meritorious service in the agency.
This news of his imminent retirement has kick-started a flurry of agitation by some people within the agency and others without, who felt that they were qualified for the job.
The names of three persons in the agency are being bandied about and so far none has come up to refute the “rumour”. THISDAY learnt from aviation industry sources that two out of the three are doing the necessary leg work to take over from Dunoma.
One of the outsiders being mentioned is a former Managing Director of the company whom, reports indicate, has been very close to the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi. But THISDAY learnt that the said former Managing Director has denied any interest in the job. He was quoted as saying the challenge in the job of being a Managing Director of FAAN is worse than the perks of office, so he has his interests elsewhere.
But one of the officials of FAAN from the northern part of the country who is eyeing the position and who is also a General Manager was quoted as saying he is well qualified for the position. He reportedly said he ought to have been elevated to Director of Operation in 2013 but that position was denied him, but he was now geared to head the agency.
Another contender who was said to have started reaching out is a woman and a Director in FAAN. Those backing her have touted her connections and said that FAAN should break the record of appointing the first woman Managing Director to head one of aviation agencies. It was only the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria that has had two female Rectors; none of the other agencies had been headed by a woman.
THISDAY also spoke with officials of the FAAN branch of the two major unions in aviation, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association (ATSSSAN). An executive member of ATSSSAN FAAN branch told THISDAY that labour had since passed a vote of no confidence in Dunoma because he did not fulfill his promises to them in uplifting their welfare and paying some of the allowances the agency owed the workers.
But spokesman of the agency, Yakubu Dati said that it was recently that the unions and FAAN amicably reached an agreement and FAAN has been fulfilling those promises, noting that everything cannot be done in one fell swoop because of paucity of funds and reiterated that FAAN would fulfill all what it agreed with labour.
“The Managing Director, Engineer Saleh Dunoma is committed to this agreement and he will meet all the obligations as endorsed. But labour should be patient because the money is not just there. As FAAN generates money it continues where it stopped until all the expectations are met,” Dati said.
But labour said that it is not campaigning for any singular person, all it wants is that an aviator should be appointed to replace Dunoma.
Indications show that such replacement will take longer time than expected because Dunoma was given appointment that has tenure and this tenure would run through till additional two years; unless government decides to truncate the appointment.
Dunoma was appointed as the Managing Director of FAAN on March 7, 2014 for a period of four years “in the first instance”, according to the appointment letter, which was approved by the former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
Upon the appointment, he quickly put in letter of retirement in accordance to government policy, which started in 2009 that stated that when given political appointment as a public servant you can retire and then enjoy the full blossom of your political appointment; otherwise if you continue the political appointment while you are still a public servant the political appointment will terminate at the time of your retirement if you are due to retire before the expiration of the appointment.
Chief of Staff to the FAAN Managing Director, Kabir Mohammed explained this to THISDAY on Tuesday and said, “Dunoma has a four year tenure that will be two years in March next year. He was appointed in the first week of March 2014. In accordance to government circular he promptly retired as a public servant when he got the political appointment so that he would enjoy his full term; otherwise your years in service will catch up with you, so he retired to enjoy the full benefits of his tenure.
“He wrote to the Ministry and said he wished to retire as public servant and Ministry wrote back to him in September 2014 to approve the retirement. Dunoma grew up in FAAN he started work here after his National Youth Service. So he has four-year tenure; although he was appointment by PDP government but he was a career civil servant and did not belong to any party. Although the present APC government can truncate the tenure but what is important is that he has a tenured appointment.”
But amid the tussle to succeed Dunoma, FAAN as an entity is yet to meet the expectations of Nigerians as an operator of 22 out of 27 airports in the country. While labour insists that it wants an aviator to become the next Managing Director of FAAN, it did not stipulate what it expects the next management to do in order to transform the agency.
So Nigerians may not expect so much from FAAN that is overburdened by bureaucracy, interferences and conservatism.
