Chinelo Obogo
Three major aviation unions Thursday shut out the Minister of Aviation, Captain Hadi Sirika, from gaining entry into the Freedom Square, headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Lagos, following a one-day warning strike over unpaid salaries. The Minister who was billed to hold a town hall meeting with the unions and members of staff on Thursday, at noon to resolve pending issues was prevented from doing so after gates leading to the headquarters of FAAN, were firmly shut by the unions.
Already, canopies and chairs had been set up in preparation for the meeting but outside the venue, gates were shut with padlocks and blocked with vehicles while union members carryiedplacards and singing solidarity songs. On Wednesday, October 14, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), issued a notice to embark on a one-day warning strike after the seven-day ultimatum issued to FAAN management to meet their demands were not met.