The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria on Monday declared that henceforth any public or private sector official at the airport found to be involved in whatever form of corrupt practice would lose his or her On Duty Card permanently.
It said this and other measures had become necessary following the repeated trending online videos of passengers who were allegedly extorted by airports’ personnel and the embarrassment which such videos had brought to the country.
The Managing Director, FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, disclosed this in Abuja after a meeting with security agencies and presidency officials on the eradication of indiscipline and other corrupt practices at airports.
He said, “We will have meetings with all the airports’ chiefs and heads of departments. After the meeting with them we will meet with other stakeholders in the agencies and private entities.
“And this is primarily to inform them that henceforth all violators recorded or caught shall be escalated by FAAN, not necessarily within the airport anymore, rather we will write to the department at the airport, to the agency or company headquarters and the violator will lose his On Duty Card.
“This means that you will lose your access card into the terminal and we agreed that it will be permanent. So once you lose your ODC at Nigerian airport, henceforth you will not get it back.”
Yadudu added, “If you are from a private company, they have to get a new staff. If it is an agency, they have to get another personnel. When you lose your On Duty Card you lose your privilege to come into the terminal permanently.”
He said meeting also agreed that all personnel working at the airports must have their names boldly written in front of their jackets or uniforms.
He said FAAN would ensure that the names were very visible and that all stakeholders must have their names prominently written on their shirts within airport terminals.
“If you are caught in the terminal and your name is not well written, that is another violation and you must lose your ODC,” Yadudu stated.
He added, “We also agreed that we must ensure that this message is well received, as the airports will have to include this in their announcements and we will put very large signs within the airport about this.”
– Punch