Sen. Biodun Olujimi, Chairperson, Senate Committee on Aviation says the senate will work with the House of Representatives to find lasting solution to the lingering crisis in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Olujimi, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District, made this known while speaking with newsmen in Abuja, on Wednesday, in reaction to her new appointment.
She stressed the importance of the sector to the nation’s economy, saying her committee would ensure adequate oversight functions to the aviation ministry and agencies to ensure that it thrived.
Olujimi said: “I thank the senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan for deeming it fit to give me the chairmanship of the committee.
“I have been in the committee from inception so I know what is happening there.
“What is important is to oversight all the agencies and the ministry to get to the root of the issues and tackle them headlong.
“There are serious challenges right now which we will sit together and iron out.
“The house of representatives is already on it. We don’t usually overlap. When the lower house is on it, we always allow them finish and then pass it down.”
According to Olujimi, since the house of representatives is holding series of meetings with aviation stakeholders, the senate will await their resolutions and act accordingly.
“We will have to work together; we will be proactive about it because the issues must be resolved.
“We cannot allow aviation to fail because that is the only way by which we can move around.
“With the serious insecurity that we are still witnessing, we must make aviation work. It is only through aviation we can surmount our problems for now. So aviation must not collapse.
“We must do everything to ensure that it stays afloat, we must get it back,” Olujimi said.
The lawmaker, however, said that she would also work with her predecessor, Sen. Smart Adeyemi (APC-Kogi) to bring about the needed solution in the sector.
“I believe I will also draw from the experiences of my predecessor. I will tap into his knowledge and we will be able to work around.
“It will be good to work with the former chairman because he knows his onions, we are going to work hard to make success of the assignment,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the senate on Tuesday, reshuffled the leadership of some of its Standing Committees.
Following the announcement, Adeyemi who was the former chairman of the committee on aviation was moved to Chair the committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The former Senate Leader, Sen. Yahaya Abdullahi (PDP-Kebbi ) now chairs the committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
Former Deputy Minority Leader, Sen. Ibrahim Danbaba, is the Chairman, senate committee on Security and Intelligence, while Sen. Michael Nnachi (PDP-Ebonyi) is the Chairman, Diaspora and Inter-Governmental Agencies. (NAN)
