November 05, (THEWILL) – Recently, the National Assembly deemed it appropriate to pass six amendment Bills on Aviation, brought by the executive to the Assembly.
Among the six amendment Bills passed included a Bill for an Act to repeal the Civil Aviation Act 2006 and to Enact the Civil Aviation Act for the Regulation of Civil Aviation in Nigeria, and for related matters.
Similarly, the Senate on the 25th of January, 2022, passed the Civil Aviation Bill 2022, which seeks to repeal the Civil Aviation Act 2006.
With the passing of the Bills, NCAA has been further empowered with an effective legal and institutional framework for the regulation of civil aviation in Nigeria, to conform with the standards and recommended practices set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Industry analysts have pointed out that the passing of the Bills is not unconnected with the level of safety that is being experienced in Nigeria’s aviation industry under the watch of the Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu. With safer operations in the last decade, confidence has been further restored in Nigeria’s airspace. This new development has, however, impacted positively on air passengers in the areas of passengers’ comfort, safety, on-time performance and even the cost of insurance premiums paid on aviation and some allied services.
Captain Musa Nuhu, on Monday, March 16, 2020, formally took over as the substantive Director General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Nuhu resumed as the 7th Director General of the Authority, following his appointment on 23rd October, 2019 and eventual confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
NCAA is the regulatory body for aviation in Nigeria, which became autonomous with the passing into law of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 by the National Assembly and the assent of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Act not only empowers the Authority to regulate Aviation Safety without political interference but also to carry out oversight functions of Airports, Airspace, Meteorological Services, etc as well as economic regulations of the industry.
The aviation industry on its own is a highly regulated one, and that makes the CAA of any country pivotal to the safety of flight operations within and outside their airspace.
Two years and a half after his resumption as the NCAA helmsman, operators in the aviation sector believe that Capt Nuhu has brought sanity into the system by raising the bar in the agency’s regulatory roles. This has brought confidence in the safety of Nigeria’s airspace.
Regulation
Recently, unfolding events in the aviation industry have put the agency in the spotlight, with a larger percentage of stakeholders scoring the current NCAA management high in terms of regulations.
For instance, operators who were able to scale through their acquisition of Air Operators Certificate (AOC), under Nuhu’s regime have attested to the fact that NCAA is up and doing in pursuing its regulations for both airlines and other stakeholders in the industry.
So far, United Nigeria Airlines is the first baby of the current management of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). After rigorous examination by NCAA, which included test flights, the agency granted the airline an AOC on 1 February 2021, which will be valid until 31 January 2023.
Another airline that got its AOC under Capt Nuhu is Green Africa Airways. The airline has equally made lots of commendations for the due process they passed through, under the watchful eyes of the DG.
Similarly, Value Jet, another commercial airline also got its AOC recently after passing through a rigorous, but standard NCAA process.
Put together and as part of its regulatory roles, NCAA has been able to checkmate airlines closely under Capt Nuhu. For instance, under Nuhu’s watch, some airlines, in order to maintain absolute safety compliance have streamlined the scope of operations.
Enforcement
Meanwhile, part of Capt Nuhu’s achievement is his strictness in enforcing the rules of the game. In March last year, under the eagle eyes of the regulator, the NCAA, pursuant to Section 35 (2) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3 (A) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2015, suspended the operations of all the Boeing 737 Aircraft in the Fleet of Azman Air Services Limited, with effect from March 15, 2021.
The suspension which came following a series of incidents involving Azman Air Boeing 737 Aircraft, was to enable the Authority to conduct an audit of the airline to determine the root cause(s) of the incidents, and recommend corrective actions to forestall re-occurrence.
Though Azman resumed a long time ago, since then, the safety compliance of virtually all the airlines seems to have improved drastically.
On the global map, the NCAA boss has within a short time, resolved 5 cases at Cape Town Convention on Mobile Equipment. Thus, creating international confidence in the oversight function of the NCAA.
Sustenance of Category 1 Status
Nigeria is a Category 1 nation, meaning the country is among some of the top global players in the aviation industry. The implication is that Nigeria needs to continually sustain the system with sound safety records. Capt Nuhu and his team have been able to sustain that status over the years at a time others are losing theirs.
Administration
Under Capt Nuhu’s regime, restructuring of the NCAA was successfully implemented in September 2020, by the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, as part of efforts geared towards streamlining the government agencies.
As part of the restructuring implemented by Nuhu, the Consumer Protection Directorate (CPD), was merged with the Directorate of Air Transport Regulations (DATR). Also, the Directorate of General Aviation (DGA), was merged with the Directorate. In the same vein, the Directorate of Operations and Training (DOT), was merged with Licensing.
However, three Directorates: Directorate of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS), Directorate of Human Resource and Administration (DHR&A) and Directorate of Finance, were retained.
With these positive changes recorded in just two and half years of his administration, there is no doubt that Capt Nuhu is fully prepared to take Nigeria’s aviation industry to the next level and ultimately ensure safety, which is the backbone of aviation worldwide.
He completed and initiated the movement into NCAA Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, and strengthened and equipped 5 Regional Offices nationwide to provide more efficient and friendly services closer to industry players
The agency is also in the process of acquiring EMPIC Regulatory Equipment for the automation and digitization of NCAA processes for improved and friendly services
Training and Retraining
Under Capt Nuhu, NCAA is doing all within its means to ensure that there are adequate training and retraining opportunities for all staff. Nuhu has domesticated Inspectors mandatory training program for more effective delivery at significant savings
Already, Capt Nuhu-led administration is in talks with the Ministry of Aviation to see how NCAA can improve their worker’s conditions of service, subject to the approval of the appropriate government agency, so that they can be able to attract, train and retain the core technical personnel
In addition, the NCAA DG is planning seriously, to tackle the challenge of shortage of technical personnel like safety and airworthiness inspectors to meet the growing air transport demand in the country.
DG, NCAA in conjunction with the NAF Chief of Air Staff, established the High-Level Civil-Military Cooperation Committee. First of its kind in Nigeria.
Strategic Management of Flight Resumption: Post Covid-19
The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 brought lots of devastating effects on the aviation industry, which is seen as the most heavily hit. Obviously, it became clear that flight operations in the post-Covid-19 era will not be business as usual. When it was time for the resumption of both local and international flight operations, many countries’ CAA started to strategies on how to survive the pandemic.
Capt Nuhu showed his professional prowess by developing and implementing the COVID-19 industry restart program before ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART)
It is, therefore, on record that Nigeria opened her airports when a lot of countries had not done so. This made Nigeria a case study for countries looking for options on how to navigate their aviation business through the pandemic.
Global Impact
Although, aviation is not local, however, Capt Nuhu has further brought NCAA back to the Global Aviation Centre Stage through the hosting of the 7th African Indian Ocean (AFI) Regional Meeting held in Abuja from 16th-20th May, 2022. This was a gathering of titans in the industry, including the ICAO Secretary-General, Director Generals of Civil Aviation Authorities from African Countries, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Association of African Aviation Training Organizations (AATO), Airlines Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Aviation Journalists and other Allied Technical personnel.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
