“We do not have aviation standard of Nigeria, we have a global aviation standard. The problem that aviation has is that of funding.
“Funding because you need to train the personnel, you need to buy the requisite equipment, the airline operators need to ensure that the aircraft was maintained.
“In aviation there are number of hours that when you fly you must shut down the aircraft and do maintenance. When an operator has to borrow at 30 per cent, and he is regulated on the pricing he has on his ticketing, it is impossible to maintain his fleets”.
Oduah, who was a former Minister of Aviation called for a review of the aviation industry master plan which according to her was last reviewed in the 1960s.
Similarly, Senators James Manager (PDP Delta South), Ibrahim Gobir (APC Sokoto East), Umar Kurfi (APC Katsina Central), Sam Anyanwu (PDP Imo East) and Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC Niger North), lamented that a lot of lives were lost as a result of air mishaps in the country, adding that the issue must be addressed squarely and frontally.
In his remarks, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over plenary recalled that in 2016, the upper legislative chamber had a similar debate and set up a committee that went round and collated information on the state of Nigerian airports.
“We did a resolution which was sent to the Federal Government and today we are back to the same issue debating the aviation sector and security concerns.
“This shows that we must do something quickly. It is important that this matter is settled quickly so that we ensure that those who fly in Nigeria fly safely”, he said