The South South zonal organising secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Blessing Agbomhere has called on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to wake up from its long slumber saying the world has gone beyond Nigeria’s poorly regulated airline industry which gives local operators the leeway to delay, cancel and roundtrip tickets purchased by unsuspecting customers.
Agbomhere made the call in a statement released in Abuja Thursday, in reaction to the shoddy treatment meted out on Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole by the management of Air Peace who denied the distinguished senator the opportunity of flying back to Abuja from Terminal 1 (Zulu Hall) of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos despite checking in online and arriving 25 minutes before the departure of his 6:30 am flight on Wednesday.
Agbomhere described the attitude of Air Peace as unjust, dubious and in violation of the principles guiding operations in the aviation industry, adding that it is a continuation of the airline’s lawless and chaotic operations, which should no longer be tolerated by Nigerians.
“I am compelled to address the distressing incident involving Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Air Peace Airline. The airline is becoming above the law and notorious for “eye service” humanitarian services carried out by its Chairman, Allen Onyema, all in a bid to perpetually cover up its atrocious poor treatment of Nigerians.
“There are several reports by Nigerians against the airline, but these complaints keep being swept under the carpet, thereby emboldening the airline to continue acting as if there is no regulator in the Nigerian sector. This has to stop, and if it takes the poor treatment of Senator Oshiomhole to stop the nefarious activities of Air Peace, then I’m sure that even the former governor of Edo State is willing to make that sacrifice.
“It is also disheartening to note that the airline was bold enough to release a statement with deliberate falsehood stating that the Senator arrived the airport twenty minutes late, a blatant lie that should have been spotted by its chairman who has in recent times taken up the role of an activist and freedom fighter akin to Martins Vincent Otse popularly known as VeryDarkMan, but who cannot spot the wicked and inhuman treatment perpetuated right under his nose by his airline.
“While calling for a total overhaul of the NCAA, I am also issuing a one-week ultimatum from the day of the release of this statement to the management of Air Peace to take action by carrying out an immediate investigation into the matter and sanctioning all its staff involved in the incident.
“The airline should also tender an unreserved apology to Senator Oshiomhole for the distress and embarrassment caused to him and ensure that it improves its customer care service for the interest of the flying masses,” he said.
Agbomhere called on the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, to use his good office to ensure that the NCAA is mandated to carry out the necessary investigations on the matter to save Nigeria’s local air services from becoming a bastion of inefficiency and corruption.
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