Air Peace Chairman Commends Buhari Over BASA Arrangements With US, India, Others
President Muhammadu Buhari has been commended for signing the instruments of ratification of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) arrangements with United States, Morocco, India and Rwanda.
Chief Allen Onyema, the Chairman of Air Peace in an interview with aviation journalist, described the signing of the agreements as another testimony of the commitment of the government to the growth of the domestic aviation industry. He added: “This couldn’t have happened at a better time than now that the domestic industry requires all the support to stay afloat. It is most commendable and I promise Mr. President that the gains thereof shall be fully harnessed. With this, the President has effectively pushed the ball in the court of domestic airline operators and I want to use this opportunity to call on my colleagues to rally to savour the full benefits of these agreements.”
Onyema also lauded Sen. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation, for providing the ground work that culminated in the signing of the agreements. He emphasised that the determination of Sirika to raise the local bar was deep, stressing that the era of lopsidedness against Nigeria in international aviation was over with the ratification of the agreement.
With these agreements, he explained that the Federal Government had challenged indigenous operators to build capacity and remain competitive in the global air space, adding that this would lead to increase job opportunities and ancillary benefits to the domestic economy.
Recalled that Sirika through his verified official Twitter handle @hadisirika on Tuesday announced that Buhari had signed the BASA agreements with the countries. He said: “I am glad to announce that Mr. President, on behalf of Nigeria, has signed the instruments of ratification of the bilateral air service agreement between Nigeria and USA, India, Morocco as well as Rwanda”
Copies of the agreements uploaded by the minister showed that Buhari signed the instruments of ratification on September 30, 2020.
