By ADEMOLA BABALOLA, Ibadan, TONY AKOWE, Kaduna, STELLA EZE, UMAR AFEGBUA, Abuja

Noted politician, Chief Olapade Agoro who spoke with newsmen in Ibadan said President Olusegun Obasanjo should do a surgical operation of the aviation industry.

Dr. Agoro said "if the truth must be told, I think God of heaven is no more with Prof. Borisade in that Ministry. Therefore Borisade must be eased out immediately.

"The angels are against him because since he assumed that position, Nigeria has recorded worst ever mishaps and it is going on unabated,・he added. While calling on the Federal Government to step in immediately and ground all aircrafts that have been in operation for the past 20 years, Agoro also called for consolidation in the aviation sector.

The Citizens Political Party (CPP) also has called for the immediate resignation of the Aviation Minister, Prof. Babalola Borishade.

The party's national chairman, Maxi Okwu said in a statement made available to NewAge that, Nigerians must cultivate a culture of holding public office holders accountable for any failure in discharge of duty.

Okwu said the crash was one too many and as such, federal government must hasten to do a radical review of the ailing Aviation industry, so as to stop putting the lives of innocent Nigerians in jeopardy.

展e are firmly of the view that this is one air crash too many and we call for a radical review of the ailing aviation sector. CPP calls for the immediate resignation or sack of the aviation minister. The time has come when Nigerians must cultivate a culture of holding political office holders accountable and responsible for failure on their watch.・

The Action Congress has called for a total overhaul of the nation's aviation industry through a thorough independent investigation of airport facilities by international experts to restore public confidence in our air space.

The party pointed out that the spate of air crashes in Nigeria in the last one year has a debilitating effect on whatever gains the federal government might have recorded in its foreign investment quest.

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by its spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party called into question the integrity of the various agencies charged with the responsibility of monitoring the standard and health of airlines operating in the country.

It declared that Nigerians can no longer continue to live in perpetual fear of insecurity in their homes, on the roads and in the air.

The AC said that no nation that aspires to greatness can afford to continually toy with the lives and safety of its citizens and foreigners in their midst. "Nigeria has had enough of wastage of its prime and quality human resources through avoidable air mishaps," the AC concluded.

Meanwhile, former Military Governor of Kaduna State and chairman of the Movement for Unity and Progress (MUP), Colonel Abubakar Umar (rtd) yesterday blamed the Federal Government for the incessant air crashes recorded in the country, just as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) wants the government to ban aircraft above five years from operating in the country.

Umar said that with the level of concern shown by the Government to the aviation industry after series of plane crashes in the country, "the end of such unfortunate incidences in which we lose prominent and other Nigerians may not be in sight."

"The Federal Government should consider this development in the country as a failure on its part. The economy is crashing, the social infrastructure are crashing and other infrastructure, including the political structures are collapsing. For goodness sake the government should see all these as a total failure on its part.

"When some of us try to draw their attention to these national problems, they call us all sort of names. The government also term us as noise makers or pessimist. But some of the things that are happening in the country today confirmed the fears we have been nursing about governance and lack of attention to development in the country.

"We should be prepared for the worst if the government refuses to pay attention to simple aviation policy and maintain air-worthiness of our aircraft. The airlines are cutting corners in order to survive. The government cannot put them in check in order to maintain sanity in the aviation sector.・

CAN Secretary General in the 19 Northern States and the FCT, Elder Saidu Dogo, lamented "it is worrisome that in spite of series of investigations carried out in the past after similar plane crashes, the reports were never implemented by the authorities concerned.

"We have this bad syndrome in Nigeria that investigation and the outcome of it is not implemented. This is our system in the country and it is very unfortunate. And the non-implementation of aviation reports on crashes has continued to worsen the situation by the day and that is why we continue to live in fear."

Lamenting the death of Sultan Maccido and other Nigerians in the crash, Dogo said "Now look at the prominent people that we have lost in plane crashes," adding "the government should really check some people in the aviation industry who are not doing

their jobs before further incident of another plane crash takes place in future." "The Federal Government should do some concrete thing and insist that any plane that is older than five years should not be allowed to operate in Nigeria. The government just has to make a make law and enforce it so that there will be a stop to all these unfortunate incidence that is taking place in the country.

"There is no country when you have this serious air disaster within a year where prominent people died and nothing is done to forestall future occurrence. This is not a good omen for our country. When Bellview plane had this mishap, we expected that all these older airplanes that are being used in Nigeria would have been put away. Also, the Sosoliso incident took place and nothing was done and then now the ADC. I think it is too much. Let us see what the government does next."