The minister of aviation and aerospace development, Mr Festus Keyamo has continued to be commended by key players across the sector for looking into the controversial appointments and recruitments carried out by his predecessor.
Prior to the appointment of Keyamo as the minister, many stakeholders particularly the aviation unions had condemned most of the appointments on the premise that it fell short of the civil service rules of engagement and in total disregard to the principles of career growth.
While it is often argued that the government has the prerogative to appoint whoever it finds suitable to the position of Chief Executive into any of the aviation agencies, it has however been pointed out that such executive fiat cannot be applied to appointment into other positions like the general manager, being a position that falls under the category of career progression.
The undue politicization of the position of general managers in the last regime which led to the importation of outsiders to take over the positions of general managers in some of the agencies had led to acrimony and disappointment amongst those qualified for the positions in line with the civil service rules on career progression.
The aviation union bodies who have not hides their displeasure with the illegality had on many occasions taken up the issue with the minister of aviation, Festus Keyamo on after his appointment.
It is therefore, a cheering news and restoration of hope and confidence amongst the workers whose jobs were given to outsiders by the last administration when the news about the appointment of Mrs Evelyn Njoku as the substantive general manager, public affairs of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) got to the public domain.
Many of the aggrieved workers who reacted to the appointment of Njoku expressed their confidence in the minister who they believed will use his position as a very distinguished lawyer to bring justice to many of the workers who are passed through Njoku’s experience.
Njoku according to investigations had been due for the position of a general manager for years but each time the opportunity reared its head, the past ministers will override the civil service rules guiding career progression by appointing outsiders to take over the position.
This has been her experience until the present minister reversed the illegality by bringing hope back to Njoku through her proper placement on the appropriate position.
The appointment of Njoku as a general manager according to information gathered may lead to the review of similar cases across the agencies.
Speaking to Safealtitude.com on the development, the general secretary, Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Saidu Abdulrazak, while insisting that the position of general manager is not political by the law, vowed to fight for the undue abuse of the civil service rules.
His words: “The position of a general manger falls under the career cader and we as unions will fight for this. General managers are on the executive cadre. They belong to career progression, no minister has any right to appoint general manager from outside unless from within, even the directors.
“The minister should appoint the most senior general manager to act as directors and not to bring in new people that know nothing to direct. What the rule says is that you will appoint from within the system, so to me, not all those appointments are correct, bringing people from outside as general managers is an aberration.”
A. Worker from a sister agency of NAMA who spoke under anonymity declared: “This shows the minister is not only listening to the yearnings of the aviation workers, but willing to deliver justice and fairness where necessary. There is therefore hope for many whose morales had been battered due to the illegalities perpetrated by the last government”.
About Evelyn Njoku:
She graduated from University of Maiduguri in 1999 with BSC, did her NYSC In 1992-1993 at the then Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA). After the completion of her NYSC, Njoku joined FCAA as Air transport officer on grade level 8 in 1993, subsequently deployed to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and lastly deployed to Nigerian Airspace Agency (NAMA) on 1st January 2000 till date. She remained a deputy general manager from 2015 until her latest appointment as general manager in February, 2024.
Njoku who has an MBA in Marketing in 2007, is a member of Nigerian Institute of marketing, Fellow in Nigerian Institute of Public Affairs (NIPR). She attended Air transport Aviation and management trainings, both outside Nigeria and within. She is the President of Glowing Women in Aviation, Nigeria chapter till date.
