The Federal Government has withdrawn the license
of Dana Air for safety and precautionary reasons following Sunday's crash of a
Dana aircraft in Lagos. This was disclosed by the spokesman of the Ministry of Aviation, Mr. Joe Obi and comes on the heels of an earlier resolution of the Senate banning the airline from flying in the Nigerian airspace.
The Senate earlier also suspended the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Harold Demuren.
Adopting a motion sponsored by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma (PDP, Imo West) and 29 others, the Red Chamber specifically urged Demuren to step aside pending the investigation into the causes of the crash.
Also demanding the reports of the probes of past air crashes in the country, the Senate directed its Committee on Aviation to liaise with that of the House of Representatives to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the crash.
Senate President David Mark challenged the executive to implement whatever resolutions the Senate would pass on the issue.
"We must insist that this time, when we make resolutions, the executive must act. All those involved must be punished. The death of the victims of this crash must not be in vain. We need to guarantee air safety in the country. We also need to find out the responses of the rescue agencies", Mark said.
Opening up the debate earlier, Senator Uzodinma described the crash as a clear indication of failure and negligence of relevant regulatory functions in the sector.
"The peculiar circumstances leading to this crash is a wake-up call for all relevant authorities to rise to the challenge of ensuring that no effort is spared in making
the nation's aviation industry conform with international safety standards", he said