OPINIONS: NCAA, please stop compounding our problems!

Dear readers, this is an interesting piece from a corper which was sent in several times on Sunday evening and his persistence has led to the publishing of this article. Interesting how the problems in the aviation sector has affected people from all works of life. Please read the article below and drop a comment. Your contribution could go a long way in bringing the voice of the people closer to the concerned authorities.

As I write this piece, I am totally losing my patience. For the past (3) three weeks Dana Air has been grounded and they have refused to continue refunds.  Each time you call their offices to confirm the situation, they keep telling you that the audit is yet to commence and that they are ready and willing to corporate with the regulatory  to carry out the audit.’’ For how long are they going to keep cooperating with this agency?

If I may ask: which regulatory agency?   Is it the agency that that has forgotten that it grounded some airlines? Or is it the agency that is battling to save the minster from the 255m car scandal? It is really a confused situation!

Do we have to wait for this long to get our refunds? Is the audit thing going to take eternity? For the past three weeks, we have been hearing the same line from Dana Air! Why would the NCAA ground them when they knew they were not ready to conduct the audit?  Do we have to wait for NCAA to clear up their mess before they attend to Dana Air, so that we can get our refunds?  I hear the audit is going to be an industry-wide thing, how come others are flying and Dana Air and IRS are still grounded? Who is deceiving who here?

As an awaiting corp. member, I booked ahead to get a convenient fare 9,000, as they (Dana Air) would always say: book ahead to get the best fare’’ but before I could say jack, they announced on their website and face book sites that they have been suspended to allow the so called regulatory agency conduct an industry-wide audit’’ how do I now get my money?  Where do these people want me to get money to get another ticket?  Is it now that the other airlines have taken advantage of this situation to jack their fares up? Knowingly fully that Chanchiang, IRS and Dana Air are all grounded are not likely to resume soon?

These days these airlines just take passengers for granted. Just the other day, I bought an aero ticket only to be told that the flight has been cancelled. Before I could say jack again, all their ticketing staff and station manager disappeared! There was nobody to talk to. The same aero I hear they want to make national carrier?  This industry is messed!

Arik delayed my uncle in the Uk for over six hours over a technical issue and did not deem it necessary to apologize. These days Arik cancels flights at will and make a journey of six hours to become 8hrs, just as FG and ASUU are making us spend more than the normal four years at school. Only recently I heard Arik over sold their tickets leaving passengers to struggle and beg to board. An angry passenger actually filmed the scenario and uploaded it on his YouTube page.  Watching that short video, made me remember the days of old Oshodi and the struggle for the now moribund molue buses. It was funny, seeing chief executives rushing to board and even begging Arik staff.  It was a total show of shame!

I wonder what the consumer protection unit of the NCAA is doing.  Or are they just paying lip service to the newly promulgated consumer protection laws?  We are now at the receiving end of the actions of these shylock airlines and NCAA’s sit-down look style.

NCAA had better wake up to their responsibilities and conduct the audit or better still pay us our monies back if they are not ready to conduct the audit, as all Dana Air offices nationwide are shut and no Dana staff seem to be insight.

Finally, I wonder who can save us from this mess in the industry.  It can’t be President

Jonathan who is still strategizing on 2015 election and grappling with the ASUU strike, and definitely not NCAA and madam minister who are still undergoing investigation in the N255million car scam.

I am in a total fix.

Benjamin Ekufo, a Corper, writes from Port Harcourt