N’Assembly dissatisfied with Dana crash compensation – Reps member

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Mrs. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has said that the National Assembly is not satisfied with the compensation so far paid by Dana Air to relatives of victims of the June 3, 2012 crash of its air plane.

Onyejeocha said the House would soon scrutinise the issue with a view to addressing the plights of the affected families.

She spoke during the presentation of the Felicia Agubata Engineering Scholarship awards in Lagos.

According to the lawmaker, the committee will invite the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to examine what has been done by the management of Dana Air.

She said, “We need to invite NCAA and know how far they have gone. I read in the papers that only few families have been compensated and I felt very bad.

“I know that the National Assembly will wade into it and the House of Representatives in particular. We are approaching June 3, 2013 and it is like a nightmare.”

On Monday, Dana said a total of $3.95m had been paid as compensation to relatives of victims and crew members, who died in the crash, which occurred in Lagos.

The Head, Corporate Communications, Dana Air, Mr. Tony Usidamen, said 106 families had received different amounts as compensation.

He said, “As of Friday, May 24, 2013, 95 of the 125 families who completed claim forms had received interim compensation of $30,000 following legal verification of documentation and next-of-kin status, while 11 have received full compensation of $100,000.

“About 21 more, whose grant of probate has just come through, will receive full payment shortly, upon execution of release.”

Onyejeocha, however, said the only way to console the families of victims of the crash was for the authorities involved to do what they were supposed to do according to the law.

The lawmaker stated that in the next few years, aviation would grow the country’s economy by 50 per cent going by the current innovations and transformation in the sector.

Onyejeocha said the aerotropolis, the construction of five new international airports and the remodelling work across major airports showed that the county’s aviation sector was being repositioned for economic growth.

She explained that with the confidence being restored in the minds of air travellers, revenue from the sector would continue to grow as it remained a source of revenue generation.

According to her, manpower training in the sector remains a critical issue.

“For the National Assembly, we look at training in budgets submitted by parastatals and we need much training, and we try to increase their funds because that is the way we get the best,” Onyejeocha said.