Confirm Najomo as substantive DG NCAA, operators, stakeholders plead with Tinubu

Stakeholders made up of some airline operators and opinion moulders in the aviation industry have called for the immediate confirmation of Capt. Chris Najomo as the substantive Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

They stated this while paying glowing tribute to a man they said has brought transformation to the regulatory agency since his appointment last year and affirmed that it is high time President Bola Tinubu confirmed him as substantive head of the agency.

Vice President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the umbrella body for airlines in Nigeria, Mr Allen Onyema and the airline owners’ body spokesman, Obiora Okonkwo said the airliners passed a vote of confidence on him when they spoke separately at the International Air Transport Conference where they eulogized the former pilot and described his administration as the best that ever happened in the industry.

Other stakeholders have lauded the impressive scorecard of Najomo and called on President Tinubu to confirm his appointment.

The two operators described the changes in the regulatory aspect of the country’s aviation as commendable saying the feat has made the Nigeria CAA one of the best in the world and affirmed that domestic operators have never had it so good in the country.

According to them, the coming on board of Najomo into the CAA has revolutionized the sector as it has ensured the safety of aircraft and passengers right to topical issues that airlines and airport workers take seriously.

They commended President Tinubu for the wisdom in appointing Najomo and the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), who has confronted the global aviation community and ensured Nigeria is now respected.

Onyema said “This is a man who has come into the industry; he is not a novice at all. This is one of Nigeria’s finest pilots ever created under the sun, quote me, Captain Chris Najomo is one of the most proficient pilots under the sun not just Nigeria. He has paid his dues.”

“Not only that, he has also paid his dues in airline management, don’t forget that he was once the Managing Director of an airline. So he knows the pains of the operators. On the other side too you need to go to NCAA. When you go to the NCAA today, the people are full of smiles because of Najomo. This is the kind of thing nobody should pray to lose. If we take it for granted we will get our fingers burnt.”

According to the Air Peace chief, “The AON of which I am a leader is affirming today that the regime of Najomo has brought the ease of doing business to the fore and we are all enjoying it in the aviation industry today. I am speaking as AON not as Air Peace or Allen Onyema now. We have complete trust in him; we are enjoying what he has done. As one of the leaders of AON, I get reports, that everybody is singing good things about the industry and when I went before President Tinubu and thanked him for the appointments he brought to bear in the aviation industry.

I told the President that the appointment of Mr. Festus Keyamo has brought a positive revolution into the country’s aviation industry. And he deserves all the commendations, like it or hate it this is the truth.

He said, “The problem we have in this country is that we are always celebrating negativity, wherever we see negativity we like to promote it, everybody will blog it, everybody’s platforms promote it, but do what is right, nobody says anything about it.”

“I want to affirm here that Festus Keyamo has brought a positive revolution into our industry. Any operator who says otherwise is economical with the truth. How do you explain taking the entire industry out of unofficial blacklisting? All the bigger airlines, the legacy airlines of this world, all those hundreds and thousands of aircraft they have been financed, they don’t owe them.”

All they do is call on Original Equipment Manufacturers and say we need this number of aircraft what they do is that the financiers come in, I mean the lessors own and pay for those aircraft and lease them back to them and people here are talking about Nigeria airlines not having capacity when Nigeria airlines hitherto were not exposed to such opportunities.”

“We were unofficially blacklisted by the leasing world because of the not-so-good incidents of the past when some Nigeria airlines went to court to stop lessors from taking their planes back. They then blacklisted Nigeria. So you must take your money there to go and buy the aircraft. Nigeria airline owners and investors deserve applause, it is not easy.”

He explained, “What we use in buying one plane you could use that to lease over 50 aircraft If those aircraft are available. If you pay forty million dollars for one brand new E2, all you need to lease the same plane, paying rentals every month is less than three hundred thousand dollars, divide forty million dollars by three hundred thousand you will get over sixty aircraft if those aircraft are available.”

“These are the things Keyamo saw when he came on board, it is not enough and mouthing Nigeria airlines that they don’t have capacity and asked foreign airlines to come and dominate, leech your country and take the monies out of your country. Everybody here will suffer it at the end of the day, your children and unborn children will suffer it. Let us be once patriotic.”

Onyema said “This government has done well for the aviation industry, look at the people appointed into the leadership of different agencies. Look at Bunmi in FAAN, she is doing very well, and all of them are doing very well. They are standing up. Then comes the regulator itself, this is the main thing also that has been dealing with airlines over the years.

Captain Najomo has zero tolerance for anything unsafe, let me tell you that, so when he is talking about ease of doing business in aviation he is not talking about allowing us to go scout-free with blue murder, even there is evidence, this post-arrival inspection, when you bring the aircraft into the country when they come and they inspect it and it didn’t meet regulatory requirements they send those aircraft back, he has done that.”

” What he has done has saved Nigeria a lot of money that could have been expended on estacodes, air travel, and a lot of time wasting. Before this inspection of aircraft into the country might take over a month, as I talk to you now it is a matter of three days now as long as you and your lessors have agreed ad made your payment, once you bring in your aircraft within three days they swarm on it and carry out the inspections, they have all the infrastructures within the country to do a good job.”

“If it is okay they approve and if not they take it back, he tells the airlines to let the lessors know that if the aircraft is okay it will be approved and if otherwise, they have to take it back. We sign before he approves so he is not shortchanging safety in any way. That is why I said he has zero tolerance for anything unsafe. The ease of doing business is back in aviation I can tell you that”.

The appointment of Captain Najomo, he said is a square peg in a square hole, we can attest to that and we thank Mr. President for restoring the ease of doing business in aviation.

On his part, Obiora said, “I want to say that Captain Najomo is a blessing to the aviation industry. During his citation, he was called jolly papa, that was then but today I seek your indulgence to rebaptise him as aviation papa.”

Wole Shadare