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Local Content Bill For Aviation Industry Ready, Soon -Mark
Senate President David Mark has said that the National Assembly (NASS) would consider a revolutionary local content regulation for Nigeria’s aviation industry to improve the sector.
Mark said this in Lagos yesterday during the unveiling of 127 pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers trained by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta.
Represented by the Senate Deputy Leader, Sen. Abdul Ningi Mark said that the regulation would be passed into law in due course.
He said that the regulation would make it mandatory for both domestic and foreign airlines operating in Nigeria to employ a certain number of indigenous pilots and aircraft engineers.
He said that the proposed legislation would be part of efforts to deepen local participation in the aviation sector.
The senate president noted that the sector had witnessed influx of expatriates as pilots, aircraft engineers and other aviation professionals.
He said the regulation had become imperative as one of the ways of creating an avenue for Nigerian aviation professionals to secure jobs in the aviation sector.
Mark said that NASS would continue to support the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the training of youths in the country in order to close the gaps in manpower needs.
“The National Assembly will continue to support the programme.
“The legislation will make it mandatory for airlines, whether local or foreign, to employ a certain number of Nigerian professionals as pilots and aircraft engineers.
‘’This, we, will pursue as much as it does not conflict with international regulations,” he said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, said that the house would give speedy passage to the bill to be initiated by the senate.
Tambuwal was represented by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta, Rep. Warman Ogoriba.
He said that the initiative was to protect the nation’s interest.
The speaker also said that regulation would facilitate job creation for indigenous aviation professionals.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation, Capt. Shehu Iyal said that aviation agencies would collaborate to ensure that pilots and aircraft engineers were absorbed into the sector.
Iyal described the type-rating of 66 pilots and 61 aircraft engineers as historic, adding that their engagement would help to fill the gap created by ageing of indigenous professionals in the sector.
“We will liaise with the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and indeed the Amnesty Office to provide jobs for these trainees.
“The office has its list and their qualifications. Some are pilots of helicopters; some are for fixed wings while some have more training to do.
‘’We know where we will place them. This is good for the development of the Nigerian aviation industry. The Amnesty Office has done very well.
‘’I have seen a bigger number sent for training. Kano sent 100 trainee pilots to Jordan for training,’’ he said.
Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Hon. Kingseley Kuku urged airline owners and players in the aviation and allied sectors to employ the young pilots and aircraft engineers.
Kuku said that the young professionals were competent and licensed, having been trained in some of the world’s foremost institutions.
He said that the 127 aviation professionals had been trained to a level that it would be difficult for any organisation to describe them as incompetent.
“The Nigerian Government will take further steps to complete ‘on duty training’ for these pilots and aircraft engineers to make it difficult for any employer to reject them,” Kuku said.
Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development Board, Mr. Ernest Nwakpa urged NASS to go beyond legislation and pursue enforcement of the Local Content Act.
He said that the enforcement would enable the young pilots and aircraft engineers to get jobs faster.
Chairman, AirPeace Airlines, Mr. Allen Onyema promised to engage 15 of the pilots in his airline on completion of their type-rating training at the CAE Oxford Aviation in the United Kingdom and Lufthansa in Germany.
Former Bayelsa Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha urged the pilots to demonstrate discipline and competence on their jobs so that their communities would appreciate Federal Government’s huge investment in them.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.