- FAAN assures of improved security, CCTV coverage
BY EDMOND ODOK – The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured that expansion of CCTV coverage and intelligence sharing are being effectively deployed as part of measures to beef up security at the Lagos International Airport’s multi-level car park.
This is as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) insists that with clients paying for services, managers of the concession, Seymour Aviation Limited, cannot adopt the vehicles ‘Parked at Owners’ Risk’ arrangement.
Accordingly, the ICRC management has challenged the concessionaire to embrace new features in the car parking service model that are in line with global best practices to ensure safety and security at the airport car park.
A statement by ICRC’s acting Head of Media and Publicity, Manji Yarling, said following recent media reports that the Airport’s multi-level car park is unsafe, the Commission management undertook an on-the-spot assessment of the parking facility that was described in some reports as ‘a den of thieves.’
The said reports arose from three alleged incidents that occurred in the last week of December 2021 and the ICRC team led by Acting Director-General, Mr Michael Ohiani that visited the facility said it is part of the Commission’s responsibilities to ensure regulatory compliance in all Public-Private Partnership (PPP) transactions.
Ohiani, who explained that the visit was for a first-hand assessment of the facility and also seeking solutions to existing challenges, said contrary to media reports only one incident had been recorded involving the vandalising of a Lexus GX 460 by unknown persons.
Taken on a tour of the facility managed by Seymour Aviation Limited, Ohiani maintained that with car parking services being the primary amenity provided by the managers at a fee, the security and safety of vehicles must be guaranteed by the service provider.
For the ICRC boss; “If I park my car it is not at my own risk, provided I pay. If I come here and I park and I do not pay, it is a different ball game. I am very happy though to know that you have an active insurance policy.”
However, Ohiani charged the concessionaire to deploy the service model where car owners upon making payment, are allotted specific slots on a particular floor.
He said; “If slot A is given to you and that particular slot has a security issue, it is easier to determine that a particular vehicle in slot A was supposed to park there because your contact number and details are already captured.
“We can use that with appropriate authority where registrations are done to be able to trace criminals. But when you allow people to park at their own discretion, it becomes difficult to trace when something happens.
“Going forward, I think those are the measures you might like to employ. It also enables you to manage the facility because you will be able to know at a particular time how many slots are taken and how many are available.”
Responding to inquiries from the ICRC Director-General, the Director of Commercial and Business Development of FAAN, Sadiku Abdulkadir Rafindadi, said some of the stories peddled about the Airport did not truly reflect the situation on the ground.
Rafindadi, who represented the FAAN Managing Director, Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu, at the visit, said following the incident, an emergency meeting called took far-reaching decisions to curb future occurrences of such ugly development.
He listed some of the meeting’s recommendations to include: the expansion of CCTV coverage at the car park; connection of the camera feeds to the MMA Terminal 2 CCTV network; and improvement of physical surveillance.
Other are; Intelligence sharing with airport security; prompt reportage of incidences at the car park; and addressing other pending cases of vehicle vandalism among others.
In his intervention, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Seymour Aviation Limited, managers of the Concession, Mr Francis Ikenga, said there was a subsisting insurance policy that covers all those using the car park.
He said the victim of the reported incident had already been compensated and the missing vehicle accessories replaced.
Ikenga said the car park focuses mainly on Safety, Security, and revenue, stressing that if safety and security are not met, then revenue will not be taken.
The Concessionaire lauded the ICRC for the good work being done adding that if sustained, many Nigerians will reap the benefits.
