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Babatunde Omotoba was appointed Federal Minister of Aviation by President Umaru Yar'Adua on 17 December 2008. He left office in March 2010 when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet.

Background

Omotoba studied Civil Engineering at the University of Benin, gaining a first class degree. He worked as a Construction and Structural Engineer on several Nigerian government projects. He was a Manager at Arthur Andersen in Nigeria in the financial services, manufacturing, commercial and telecoms groups. Omotoba obtained a master's degree in Business Administration from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 2003. Omotoba worked for several years after graduating from Kellogg as vice president of Smith Whiley & Company's private equity division in Evanston, Illinois, USA. Before being appointed Minister of Aviation, Omotoba was a director at Africa Finance Corporation, a multibillion-dollar investment fund.

Aviation minister

Omotoba was appointed Federal Minister of Aviation on 17 December 2008. In March 2009, Omotoba sacked the managing director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency and nine directors in three aviation parastatals, apparently due to concerns over handling of funds.

In April 2009, he said he had reviewed all agreements the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria had signed with concessionaires and concluded that some were completely lopsided, ignoring the interests of the government. In September 2009, Omotoba was directed by the attorney-general Michael Aondoakaa to hand over the General Aviation Terminal of the old domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Lagos) to Bi-Courteny Aviation Services Limited.

Also that month, talking about the financial difficulties faced by several Nigerian airlines, Omotoba said government had not rules out any form of bail-out for the airlines. He also suggested the airlines should seriously consider mergers and alliances. He ruled out enactment of the Fly Nigeria Act as a way of supporting local airlines, saying the local carriers had to improve their safety record before the Nigerian elite would use them instead of the manor international airlines.

References

1. ^ Anza Philips (24 December 2008). "The Coming of New Helmsmen". Newswatch. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
2. Daniel Idonor (17 March 2010). "Jonathan Sacks Ministers". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
3. "New Nigeria Minister Targets Safety, Consumer Protection". Aviation and Allied Business Publications. Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
4. "Alumni Spotlights and Highlights: Babatunde Omotoba". Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Archived from the original on 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
5. Emmanuel Uffot (1 March 2009). "Sweeping Changes In Aviation Agencies". Newswatch. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
6. UCHE USIM (April 30, 2009). "Why we must review FAAN/concessionaires agreement – Babatunde Omotoba, Aviation Minister". Online Nigeria Daily News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
7. Emmanuel Uffot (27 September 2009). "Sticking to the Rule of Law". Newswatch. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
8. Emmanuel Uffot (21 September 2009). "Hard Times for Domestic Airlines". Newswatch. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
9. UCHE USIM (September 17, 2009). "Why the 'Fly Nigeria Act' cannot work yet –Babatunde Omotoba, Aviation Minister". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2010-02-17.

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