Journalists barred from aviation stakeholders’ meeting

The crisis rocking the aviation sector took another turn on Tuesday as journalists were prevented from covering a stakeholders’ session which had industry professionals in attendance.

Prior to the event, which held in Abuja, its organisers had invited the press, but on getting to the venue of the programme, the facilitators made a U-turn, saying the meeting was not meant for coverage by journalists.

In a bid to placate reporters, the media coordinator of the programme later stated that a communiqué would be sent to the journalists, stressing that the programme was a closed door event.

The meeting had aviation elders and three key unions in the sector -the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, and National Union of Air Transport Employees.

Nigeria’s aviation sector has been enmeshed in a series of controversies ranging from the purchase of two armoured cars by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority for the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, at an allegedly inflated price, to the air mishaps that had characterised the industry in the past few months.

The National President, ATSSSAN, Mr. Benjamin Okewu, had stated that the association did not buy NCAA’s explanation with respect to the cars it bought for the minister.

Punch