Minister: Inter-agency rivalry cost Nigeria ICAO audit
- Keyamo to chair committee for March 2024 security assessment
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo explained reasons Nigeria performed abysmally poor at the recent Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), saying inter-agency rivalry amongst the Chief Executive Officers and lack of coordination cost the nation so much.
Nigeria scored five points short of the 75 percent benchmark which in aviation is considered to be below pass pass mark of 75%.
It was the first time in 15 years the sector would fail the mandatory audit. However, it was given the statutory 60 to 90 days lifeline to close all identified gaps by the global aviation regulatory body.
The audit, which puts the regulatory agencies to the test, examined the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The apex regulatory body scored 70 percent in Effective Implementation (EI), at the end of the audit that was concluded on September 15, 2023
The NCAA was found wanting in training, which reduced the marks following huge gaps noticed in the training area of the examination.
Notwithstanding the overall result, the entire aviation industry comparatively did well in the audit, outperforming a few bigger aviation countries.
The audit, which took place between August 30 and September 11, 2023, focused on a State’s (in this case the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority) capability to provide safety oversight by assessing whether the State has implemented the critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system effectively and consistently.
The Minister, while fielding questions from Aviation Metric at the just concluded induction and signing of performance bond by recently appointed chief executive officers of the various aviation agencies in Abuja at the weekend said, “The problem has always been that there are inter-agencies problems and rivalry because at times, the NCAA DG said I don’t speak to the MD of FAAN because he needs FAAN to put some things in place before ICAO comes and the MD of FAAN says you cannot give directives. This went on for months until ICAO arrived and of course, we could not do well and had the type of score that we had.”
He further stated that since he assumed office, he had made sure inter-agency rivalry was abolished and one that would see the agencies and entire sector work hand in hand to achieve a common goal.
“When I came in, I said this cannot go on and I said, come and have your meetings with me. If NCAA comes up with anything, I will ask the MD of NAMA, FAAN to go and put it in place now. There will no longer be inter-agency rivalry so that we can move up on the rating by ICAO audit. The last time, South Africa scored 92% and we scored 70%. We cannot allow that to happen. There will be meetings and the Permanent Secretary will be coordinating it. The date of the meeting should be communicated to you. The CEOs should get a focal person to work with us on the audit.”
To forestall a repeat of the poor performance of the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) of the ICAO, the Minister has set up a security oversight committee to be chaired by him to close the gaps in safety and security audit as Nigeria works to pass the audit which comes in March 2024.
“We have a security audit coming in March 2024. I think we should work very hard towards that. To make your work seamless, always adhere to financial regulations and administrative procedures to mention but a few. Be sure of what you sign.”
To actualize the five-point agenda for the growth of the Nigerian aviation value chain, the Minister charged the newly appointed chief executive officers of agencies like the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) to form a new phase of partnership and collaboration, by leveraging on the immense opportunities in the sector to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and joint-venture partnerships with heads of international economic organizations, presidents of transnational corporations and principals of leading privately-owned enterprises.
He urged the new appointees to foster collaboration, embrace change, and lead with vision, stressing that their commitment to excellence would shape the future of our Ministry.
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