Aviation Workers to Protest FG's IGR Deductions

Protest Looms in Aviation Sector Over IGR Deductions

“All efforts on our part have failed to impress it upon the Federal Government that all the agencies are cost recovery and not profit-making organisations..."

Aviation workers to protest 50% deduction from agencies' revenues, citing threat to safety and financial stability of NCAA, FAAN, NCAT, NMA, and NSIB.

Nigeria's aviation sector is bracing for disruption as workers have announced plans to stage a peaceful protest starting next Wednesday. The move is aimed at pressuring the Federal Government to reconsider its policy.

The protest is a response to the government's refusal to withdraw the controversial 50% deduction from the internally generated revenues (IGR) of aviation agencies, sparking fears of widespread travel chaos.

 All state councils, women commissions/committees, youth councils, and branches of our unions nationwide are to fully mobilise for and ensure full compliance and success of the peaceful protests,” union leaders directed.

The planned protest was announced in a joint statement issued on Thursday by top aviation union leaders, including Ocheme Aba (NUATE General Secretary), Frances Akinjole (ATSSSAN Deputy General Secretary), Abdul Rasaq (ANAP Secretary General), Olayinka Abioye (NAAPE General Secretary), and Sikiru Waheed (AUPCCSTRSE General Secretary).

The union leaders, representing various aviation sector workers, signed the protest notice, signaling a united front against the Federal Government's policies, particularly the contentious 50% deduction from internally generated revenues (IGR) of aviation agencies.

The workers argued that the deductions have severely affected the financial viability of essential agencies, resulting in a strain that is already jeopardizing critical safety operations and compromising the overall safety of the aviation sector.

“All efforts on our part have failed to impress it upon the Federal Government that all the agencies are cost recovery and not profit-making organisations,” the statement noted.

“As such, they cannot survive on half of their incomes under any model of administration or any other guise whatsoever. The ultimatum given to the Minister of Aviation on the same has expired since the end of August 2024.

“Information available to us indicates that some important safety critical activities of the agencies are grinding to a halt under the yoke of the deductions.

“It has, therefore, become incumbent on us as trade unions and workers in aviation to let the public and the government be aware that we shall bear no responsibility in the event that the industry becomes dysfunctional as a result of financial incapacity due to the deductions at source.”

The agencies impacted by the deductions include key regulatory and service providers in the aviation sector, namely: the NCAA, FAAN, NCAT, NMA, and NSIB, which are essential for ensuring safety, regulation, and efficient operation of the industry.