The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), NCAA Branch, has warned that a proposal to reduce the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) statutory funding could jeopardise Nigeria’s international aviation reputation and weaken the country’s safety oversight system.
The association said the bill before the National Assembly, which seeks to reduce the NCAA’s share of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge from 56 per cent to 40 per cent while increasing the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s (NAMA) allocation to 40 per cent, comes at a time when Nigeria is earning global recognition for improvements in aviation safety.
In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Comrade Diepreye Stephen Saburugha, and Secretary, Comrade (Engr.) Celestine Nkemakolam Chukwu, the union noted that Nigeria recently achieved a 91.4 per cent Effective Implementation score during the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP), describing the feat as a reflection of the NCAA’s effective regulatory oversight.
According to NAAPE, weakening the financial capacity of the Authority could gradually erode the gains recorded over the years.
“It therefore defies logic that, having achieved one of Africa’s highest USOAP scores under already difficult financial circumstances, the country would now deliberately weaken the very institution that made that achievement possible,” the association said.
The union explained that the NCAA is responsible for certifying airlines, inspecting aircraft, approving maintenance organisations, licensing aviation professionals, certifying aerodromes, overseeing air navigation service providers and enforcing compliance with aviation regulations.
It stressed that these statutory responsibilities require continuous funding, highly trained inspectors and regular surveillance programmes to ensure operators comply with international safety standards.
NAAPE also warned that the proposal could have implications beyond Nigeria, saying international organisations and foreign aviation authorities assess the financial and technical capacity of a country’s aviation regulator before recognising its safety oversight system.
“The issue goes beyond domestic aviation. Nigeria’s international aviation reputation is also at stake,” the statement read.
The association further observed that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under its International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme, evaluates whether a country’s Civil Aviation Authority possesses the legal framework, qualified personnel and financial resources required to provide effective safety oversight.
It argued that a financially weakened NCAA could expose Nigeria to unfavourable observations during future international assessments, with possible implications for the overseas expansion plans of Nigerian airlines.
NAAPE disclosed that the Authority is already operating under significant financial pressure, with several inspectors owed Duty Tour Allowances, delayed implementation of improved Conditions of Service and the loss of over 60 experienced inspectors and technical personnel within the last five years.
The union attributed much of the financial challenge facing aviation agencies to the failure of some airlines to remit Ticket Sales Charges collected from passengers, insisting that recovering the outstanding debts would provide a sustainable solution without reducing the NCAA’s statutory allocation.
“The solution to the financial challenges facing Nigeria’s aviation industry is not to cripple the regulator. It is to strengthen the regulator, recover outstanding statutory revenues and preserve the financial autonomy that ICAO regards as indispensable for effective safety oversight,” NAAPE stated.
The association urged the Federal Government and the National Assembly to reject the proposed reduction in the NCAA’s allocation and instead consider increasing the Authority’s share to about 65 per cent to enable it to effectively discharge its expanding regulatory responsibilities.
“A nation that weakens its safety regulator weakens the safety of its skies. Nigeria must not make that mistake,” the union added.
