Dr. Lukman Emiola, Director of Human Resources and Administration, FAAN
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) under its current Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, has experienced series of turnarounds, especially in the area of infrastructure and welfare.
Her focus on staff welfare has further boosted workers’ confidence as the management has been praised for taking the welfare of the over 8,000 workforce as a top priority.
Recently, the Authority implemented the new minimum wage and offset four months arrears under the new condition of service.
Recall that on July 29, 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed the N70,000 minimum wage bill into law, raising the monthly minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
The new minimum wage is expected to increase the cost of living for some, but it is also seen as a way to improve the living standards of workers, particularly those in the lowest income brackets.
Dr. Lukman Emiola, FAAN’s Director of Human Resources and Administration, disclosed in a recent interview, that the Authority paid four months; August, September, October, and November arrears to its staff and implemented the new minimum wage in April.
Emiola, who said the focus of the Authority on the optimal performance of its workforce is to ensure that staff get what they deserve, revealed that December, January, February, and March arrears would be paid in the coming month.
“We aim that if we make 100%, we are determined to ensure that our staff get at least 40% from that 100% to encourage them. The federal government increased the minimum wage in July last year. At that time, we were already working with our current budget, and we needed to plan to be able to assess what we could accommodate at that time. We had only been in our positions for six months then, so we went back to the drawing board. Besides, we needed some levels of approval from our ministry and other stakeholders before we could implement it. So, within our calculations, when we looked at the numbers, we were able to appeal to our union executives to show us understanding to allow us to prepare. With our very robust relationship with the union executives, they permitted us, and we made that promise, so we had the responsibility to fulfill it.”, he said.
According to him, when FAAN got all the approvals to implement the minimum wage, ‘we were already in arrears, and because we didn’t want to be socially irresponsible, we went back and calculated their arrears. When we calculated, we saw that we could break it down in batches. So, we paid staff the arrears; we don’t want to be in debit or deficit with them.
“We want them to believe that whatever we say, we will be able to keep. So, we paid their arrears. As of this month, I think we paid the August, September, October, and November 2024 arrears to our staff and we also implemented the minimum wage, so that gave them a significant boost. We are also determined to complete the December, January, February, and March arrears this coming month. So, we just want to prove to them that we are responsible, and when we say we will do things, we will do them. So that’s what we did.”, he added.
Already, staff, union leaders and stakeholders are commending the current management, led by Kuku for improving the welfare of staff and for taking the bull by the horn to ensure Nigerian porous airports with glaring deficits in infrastructure spanning decades, operate to the industry Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
Earlier, the the workers praised the Managing Director for taking a historic step by paying the Child Education Grant and Outfit Allowances of all FAAN staff from Grade Level 1 to 17, in 2024, a decision never taken in the annals of the agency.
Reacting to the current development, a staff of the Authority and a member Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), said the staff have witnessed series of turnaround in terms of welfare under the leadership of Olubunmi Kuku.
Abdulmumuni, noted that apart from welfare and wage matters, airports facilities under FAAN’s management have been modernised in the last one, thanks to the visionary leadership of Mrs. Kuku, who has set a bold new strategic direction while motivating employees to pursue ambitious targets.
“There are two main areas of focus for workers in Kuku’s achievements; first, facilities and infrastructure upgrade across the airports with a clear vision and mission and in collaboration with staff, the second aspect of her great performances that has exalted her beyond the imagination of FAAN staff is her ability to manage the most important aspect of production which is the workers. The following areas: Training and re- training of her employees; discipline and reward; improvement on welfare package and prompt payment of staff claims especially in the area of pension and gratuity, have been very outstanding in her achievements so far”, he said.
