National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has suspended its planned protest against the federal government’s deduction of 50% of internally-generated revenue (IGR) from aviation agencies, originally set for September 18.
Gatekeepers News reports that this decision comes after the government agreed to engage in discussions with the union leaders.
Olayinka Abioye, NAAPE’s general secretary, announced the suspension, stating, “Consequent upon information available to us about ongoing discussions by higher authorities over the continued deduction of 50% by the Federal Government, I hasten to inform our esteemed members that the planned protest scheduled for tomorrow is hereby suspended pending the outcome of these discussions.”
The protest was sparked by the government’s refusal to reverse the 50% deduction policy from the IGR of aviation agencies, including the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
The unions argued that these agencies are “cost recovery, and not profit-making organisations,” and therefore cannot survive on half incomes.
Prior to the suspension, President Bola Tinubu had approved reducing the deductions from 50% to 20%. However, the workers rejected this compromise, citing the numerous challenges facing the aviation sector and the inadequacy of the reduced deduction
