Najomo may get DG NCAA confirmation after Nuhu’s tenure ends Feb 2025

• FG applies delay strategy to solve leadership conundrum

The controversy that led to the Federal Government’s inability to proceed to confirm the appointment of the Acting Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo as substantive DG of the agency is expected to come to an end soon.

Reason: The Director-General of NCAA recognized by law, Capt. Musa Nuhu’s five-year tenure comes to an end in February 2025.

This could pave the way for the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo to recommend Najomo for confirmation as substantive Director-General of the aviation regulatory body by the National Assembly if the President agrees with the Minister’s recommendation.

The inability or delay to confirm Najomo as NCAA DG is that the Federal Government has not been able to prove allegations of corruption levelled against Nuhu which led to his suspension from office.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has not been able to find anything incriminating against Nuhu; hence his refusal to let go of his claim as the DG of NCAA.

Stakeholders in the aviation industry considered his suspension from office as ‘illegal’ and violating rules on removing a Director-General from office.

There are indications that the Federal Government is buying time to wait for Nuhu’s tenure to elapse before confirming Najomo as DG which many said is a smart decision.

Najomo has been in acting capacity for more than one year, an action many described as not too healthy for the overall interest of the aviation industry, particularly from the regulatory point of view.

The law stipulates that Najomo can only act for six months before he is confirmed or asked to give way for another. Going by the law, Najomo should be by now confirmed as the law does not permit NCAA DG in an acting capacity for more than six months.

But Keyamo has dismissed that saying the rule stipulates, “That the period of Acting appointment shall not exceed one year, but in exceptional circumstances may be extended for another year”.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not appoint Capt. Chris Najomo as Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority on six-month tenure,” he said.

Aviation Metric learnt that Nuhu has declined overtures made to him to forgo his legal battle over his removal but has maintained the position of clearing his name over the damaging allegations of corruption and fraud levelled against him that led to his suspension from office.

The Federal Government appointed Nuhu as the Director General and Chief Executive Officer for the NCAA in October 2019

Until his new appointment, he was the Nigeria Representative in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council. He took over from Captain Muhtar Usman whose tenure ended.

He became the DG of the NCAA in February 2000 when the National Assembly confirmed his nomination.

“But since he has refused to do that, the only option left for the government is to patiently wait until his tenure elapses February next year”, said an airline operator who preferred anonymity.

“The NCAA DG’s position is tenured just like the position of the Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigative Bureau (NSIB) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and can only be removed from office by a recommendation of the National Assembly or by the President if they are found to have committed financial impropriety or dereliction of duty.”

Capt Nuhu was suspended from office and replaced with Capt. Najomo. The reason according to the former Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale was to enable the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct an unfettered investigation into the activities of the suspended Director-General and other senior officials in the NCAA.

Nuhu had pleaded his innocence as the anti-graft agency is yet to prove its case against the former DG.

A source very close to intrigues about the conundrum in the headship of NCAA confided in our correspondent that many influential persons had made overtures to the former DG to lay the matter to rest.

The source disclosed that doing so may pave the way for the confirmation of Najomo as the substantive NCAA Director-General, who is an obvious choice of Keyamo for the top job.

Section 11 of the law which talks about the appointment and removal of the director general said, “There shall be for the Authority a Director-General Civil Aviation Appointment (in this Act referred to as “the Director-General”) who shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

The law also clearly states that “The Director-General may be removed from office by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate, where he becomes of unsound mind or is incapable of carrying out his duties as a result of physical or mental illness or has demonstrated inability to effectively perform the duties of his office;  has been absent from five consecutive meetings of the Board without the consent of the Chairman unless he shows good reason for such absence or in the case of a person possessed of professional qualifications, is disqualified or suspended from practising his profession in any part of the world by an order of a competent authority.”

Wole Shadare