The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has disowned a statement opposing the proposed reduction in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) share of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
It stated categorically that the statement neither originated from nor received the approval of the union’s National Executive Council.
The union said the position, attributed to NAAPE in recent media reports, was issued by officials of its NCAA Branch and should not be construed as the official position of the national body on the proposed amendment to the revenue-sharing formula for aviation agencies.
The clarification followed reports quoting NAAPE as warning that reducing the NCAA’s statutory allocation from 56 per cent to 40 per cent could weaken aviation safety oversight and undermine the financial independence of the regulator.
But NAAPE’s national leadership said the intervention was made without the authorisation of the National Executive Council and fell outside the mandate of a branch executive committee.
The President of NAAPE, Capt. Bunmi Gindeh, said branch executive committees are primarily responsible for managing the affairs and welfare of members within their respective organisations and workplaces.
Gindeh, in a statement on Wednesday by Public Relations Officer, NAAPE, Blessing Ahmadu said the body operates a defined structure that assigns distinct responsibilities to its national and branch executive bodies
He noted: “The National Executive Council of NAAPE wishes to state clearly that the position being circulated in the media did not emanate from the national leadership and should not be presented as the official position of the association.”
“The statutory responsibility of a branch executive committee is to manage the affairs of members within its branch.
“Issues relating to national policies, legislative engagements and matters with sector-wide implications are handled by the national leadership of the association.”
The clarification, according to NAAPE, became necessary after media reports portrayed the NCAA Branch statement as the collective position of the association.
It noted: “The NCAA Branch did not seek or obtain the authorisation of the National Executive Council before issuing the statement. Its contents, therefore, cannot be attributed to the national leadership of NAAPE.
“Distinguishing between a branch position and that of the national leadership was necessary to ensure that the public, the media and aviation stakeholders accurately identify the source and status of statements attributed to the association.
“A branch statement and the official position of the National Executive Council are not the same and should not be conflated. We urge the media and our industry stakeholders to take note of this distinction when reporting positions attributed to NAAPE.”
The national leadership also cautioned its branches against making public pronouncements on national policy matters without recourse to the union’s established structures and internal processes.
It said while members and branches are entitled to raise concerns affecting their welfare and professional interests, positions on broader aviation policy must pass through the appropriate national organs before being presented as the official position of NAAPE.
The union said it remained committed to engaging the Federal Government, aviation agencies, lawmakers and industry stakeholders on matters affecting aviation professionals and the wider sector.
NAAPE added that any official position on the proposed amendment to the statutory revenue-sharing formula would be communicated by the National Executive Council through the association’s authorised channels.