Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah
The Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, has solicited the support of members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in voting for Mr. Olumuyiwa Aliu, a Nigerian, as a replacement for the outgoing president of the body, Mr. Roberto Kobeh González.
The election into council, which is the highest ruling organ of ICAO,
is due to be conducted at the end of the 38th annual general meeting
(AGM), currently holding in Canada.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the minister, Mr. Joe
Obi, quoted Oduah as saying: “In the same vein, Nigeria wishes to use
this opportunity to solicit the support of ICAO member States for her
re-election into Part 2 of the ICAO council.
“In addition, Nigeria also humbly requests your support for the
election and re-election of those African states that have been endorsed
by AFCAC to the ICAO council.”
While expressing confidence in Aliu’s candidature, she said: “Nigeria
is also delighted to refer to the candidature of Aliu for the post of
the president of the ICAO council in the next council election.
"I wish to thank the African states for the endorsement of his candidature by the African Union (AU). We solicit and thank ICAO member states for their support of his candidature.”
"I wish to thank the African states for the endorsement of his candidature by the African Union (AU). We solicit and thank ICAO member states for their support of his candidature.”
The minister stated that Nigeria remained committed to ICAO initiatives
and collaborative efforts in achieving safety, security and
environmentally friendly air transportation, adding that this had been
demonstrated through the hosting and continuous support of our Regional
Safety Oversight Organisation, the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety
Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO), which recently held in Abuja.
The recent ICAO high level conferences on air navigation, air transport
and aviation security, according to her, had made far reaching
recommendations, stating that Nigeria supported the endorsement by the
assembly of the Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and the Global
Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) as well as recommended Civil Aviation
Security Strategies.
Nigeria also believes that there is need to streamline ICAO policies regarding the protection of consumer interests.
Nigeria also believes that there is need to streamline ICAO policies regarding the protection of consumer interests.
She said: “I wish to reassure you that Nigeria is determined to
continue to champion the advancement of civil aviation in the African
region through collaborative efforts amongst member states. Nigeria also
wishes to express her commitment and continuous support for the
comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa
(AFI Plan).”
Oduah commended African states and the African Civil Aviation
Commission for their renewed and vigorous dedication towards the
attainment of safety of the African skies and the development of air
transportation on the continent.
She said: “Nigeria under the regime of President Goodluck Jonathan,
embarked on the transformation of its aviation industry focusing on the
rehabilitation, upgrade and development of aviation infrastructure;
improving aviation safety and security; creating enabling environment
for growth of airlines and other service providers as well as protecting
the interest of aviation end-users.
“I am very delighted to inform you that the transformation agenda is
yielding positive results. This coupled with the liberalisation policy
of the government, has led to significant increase in the operations of
foreign and domestic airlines and utilisation of our airports, resulting
in an annual traffic growth of over ten per cent in the last three
years.”
culled from Thisday
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