Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria investigates claim staff were asked to pay for vehicle repair

FEDERAL Airports Authority of Nigeria (Faan) officials have launched an investigation into an allegation that the head of one of its departments asked staff members to contribute money for the repairs of a damaged truck belonging to the agency.

Nigerian state-owned agencies are commonly known to be cash strapped and this paucity of funds regularly hampers their operations. On September 20, however, this problem took on a new dimension, after it was reported that one Faan department asked workers to donate towards truck repairs.

Apparently, staff members of the Aerodome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, were asked by their head of the department to make the donation. They said even though the donation was voluntary, they were unhappy that such demand was made of them.

One fireman was said to have rammed the truck into the fire bay at the domestic airport, during which its front passenger door, windscreen and bumper were partly damaged. His accident led to the need for the repairs, with the cost estimated at N470,000 and Faan is now investigating if indeed this happened.

Faan spokeswoman Henrietta Yakubu, said: “We will like to state first of all that Faan is a responsible organisation and would on no account shy away from any of its responsibilities or solicit funds from its members of staff to carry out such. In addition, the authority has in place a very robust and functional maintenance system for its facilities and infrastructure as well as insurance cover for all our fire trucks, so the matter is already being investigated for necessary action.”