Groundswell opposition trails Minister’s NCAA power usurpation
….Action portends gravel danger, threatens Nigeria’s FAA status-Experts
A groundswell opposition has trailed the decision of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo’s decision to unilaterally order the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to suspend Dana Air’s operations over a skidding off of runway incident involving the carrier on Tuesday.
The Minister had in the aftermath of the incident ordered the NCAA to suspend Dana’s operations.
The Minister in a letter to the NCAA dated April 24, 2024 and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Emmanuel Meribole said the suspension was for the aviation regulatory to carry out a comprehensive audit on the carrier and to ascertain the health status of the airline.
The letter read in part, “As the supervisor overseeing our nation’s aviation safety and regulatory compliance, it has come to the Minister’s attention that recent incidents involving DANA Air have raised serious concerns regarding both the safety and financial viability of their operations.”
In light of these incidents and with the paramount priority being the safety and well-being of our citizens and travellers, the Minister has directed that you immediately initiate the suspension of Dana airline’s fleet until a comprehensive audit can be conducted. This audit should encompass all aspects of safety protocols, maintenance procedures, and financial health to ensure full compliance with our aviation regulations.”
He noted that the recent incidents have underscored the urgency of this matter, and swift and decisive action must be taken to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders involved.
However, many commentators and aviation industry analysts have described Keyamo’s action as not only hasty but a violation or breach of the regulatory body’s autonomy and one that could threaten Nigeria’s category one rating which the country laboured to get from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that puts the country in the top league of aviation development.
A former Managing Director of IRS Airlines, Mr. Yemi said, “Section 4(3) of the NCAA states that authority shall be independent in the discharge of its duties and functions under this Act and for that purpose shall not, except as provided under this Act, take directives from any person or authority .” Any person or authority includes the Minister. Nowhere in the Act is the Minister given power to direct the Authority to suspend the operations of any air operator.”
A former Assistant Secretary General of Airline Operators of Nigeria, (AON) Mohammed Tukur has warned against the danger of undermining the autonomy of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA).
Tukur in a statement described the grounding of all the fleet of the Dana Air by the Minister as a usurpation of the powers of the NCAA.
According to him, “The action of the Minister is like putting our civil aviation on a reverse to the era between the late 1980s and the early time of the present democratic dispensation when President Obasanjo for no just course ordered the grounding of the entire Chanchangi fleet over Bellview crash.”
He noted that the development was a dangerous signal that must be repealed so that the civil aviation authority would not be relegated to an appendage of the Ministry.
The former AON scribe further described the grounding of DANA, an airline that just scaled through the economic audit of the NCAA as unfortunate stressing that it was also happening in the wake of the authority’s successful safety audit and FAA’s category one.
Aviation consultant and the Chief Executive of Belujane Consult, Mr Chris Azu Aligbe stated that the minister may have been misled into usurping the powers of the NCAA; an action he said is not good for civil aviation in Nigeria.
He noted that the United States may be very uncomfortable with the country, explaining what the country went through before getting the US FAA category status ranking with a promise that there won’t be political interference in the NCAA’s discharge of its duties.
“It’s ironic for Keyamo who recently complained of high insurance rates and leasing costs faced by the Nigerian operators to come up with such hammer on DANA which gives an impression that our CAA lacks independence and oversight capability”.
Tukur further observed that there was likely an aqua plain on the runway because of the rain saying that it was necessary to have waited for the investigators to come up with the plenary report while only the aircraft involved should have been grounded.
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