Aviation stakeholders on Tuesday said that the industry had the potential to facilitate Nigeria’s economic growth, with implementation and execution of the right policies and projects.
They claimed on Tuesday that Nigeria had yet to get maximum benefits from aviation due to lack of political will and long-term planning by successive administrations.
The stakeholders expressed their views in interviews in Lagos.
They appraised the performance of the industry as Nigeria celebrates 59th independence anniversary.
The President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Dr Gbenga Olowo, said that aviation was a key driver of economic growth because it created opportunities for commerce to thrive.
He said that Nigeria had yet to tap into many of the gains of aviation in spite of its huge population and strategic location.
Olowo said that political will was required for Nigeria to reposition itself as a global force in aviation.
He said that the plans for the sector by the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, had yet to be actualised.
According to him, distractions from the 2019 General Elections slowed down activities in the sector, resulting in unimplemented policies and unexecuted projects.
He said : “If you measure the last one year, which was an election year, things slowed down in the industy.
“We have a lot of projects yet to be executed and policies yet to be implemented.
“The government is running out of time to deliver on its promises in the aviation sector such as airport concession, airlines growth and establishing aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities.
“We need to move to the implementation stage, and it requires strong political will.”
Olowo said that Ghana had, in the last four years, transformed the Kotoka International Airport in Accra and was planning to establish a national carrier.
“They have packaged it together, and during the last International Air Transport Association session, they came up and spoke about it,” he said.
Mr Ikechi Uko, Convener, Akwaaba Travel and Tourism Market, said that Nigeria should link aviation with other sectors, particularly tourism, to attract more visitors to the country.
Uko cited Ethiopia and South Africa as two countries that had successfully established and grown their national carriers by focusing on the strength of their nations.
“I believe that we should develop and implement our own Aviation Road Map just like other countries are doing.
“We must be able to link aviation to other areas such as tourism and healthcare to attract people to Nigeria.
“This requires long-term planning and continuity which we have not been able to achieve,” he said.
