The ministerial task force charged with the responsibility of addressing alleged illegal private commercial activities of charters has said the probe will begin on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a chat with The PUNCH, the Vice Chairman of the task force, Roland Iyayi, disclosed that the probe would begin with an interview phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said, \u201cWe are inviting them in from next Thursday for an interview. It (interview) will go on the whole of next week to see what they have done or not done. So, until we talk to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the local operators, we are in that phase of interviewing them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Iyayi, the invitations to these interviews have not yet been formally sent out, but specific entities suspected of illegal activities have already been identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said, \u201cWe have not sent out the invites yet, but we have identified some of the illegal operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo we will invite them and ask specific questions, which is where we are now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recall that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in June, inaugurated a ministerial task force on illegal private charter operations, noting that it would be engaged in taking inventory of all private non-commercial flight holders and air operator certificate holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The action was prompted by numerous complaints of money laundering and illegal drug smuggling activities by legitimate commercial air charter operators and alarming security reports from the country\u2019s security agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The task force was given a three-month deadline to complete its report and submit it to the ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the minister, the committee will, among others, help to determine why the practice of illegal charters by PNCF holders persists in the country despite regulatory controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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