X-raying Tinubu/Keyamo’s sack of aviation agencies chief executives

The hammer eventually fell. It was long expected because that has been the practice all along that when a new Minister comes, he comes with his team, and people he believes can help him to achieve his dream of the assignment handed to him.

On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu tinkered with the hierarchy of the leadership of the aviation agencies and approved the suspension, removal, and replacement of the following Chief Executive Officers under the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

The managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Kabir Yusuf Mohammed was replaced by Mrs. Olubunmi Oluwaseun Kuku as the substantive Managing Director of the FAAN. No one has heard about her and one that has heightened the curiosity of stakeholders over the quality of the replacement of Mohammed who many have credited with some reforms since he assumed leadership of FAAN in May this year. One hopes that Mrs. Kuku changes the perception to re-write the negative stories about FAAN.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr. Tayib Adetunji Odunowo was sacked and replaced with Engr. Umar Ahmed Farouk as the substantive Managing Director of NAMA.

The Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Engr. Akinola Olateru was removed from office and replaced with Mr. Alex Badeh Jr. as the substantive Director-General of NSIB.

The director–general of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu was removed from office and replaced with Prof. Charles Anosike as the substantive Director-General of NIMET.

Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Capt. Alkali Mahmud Modibbo was removed from office and replaced with Mr. Joseph Shaka Imalighwe as the Acting Rector of NCAT, pending the appointment of a substantive Rector, by Section 13(2) of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology Act, 2022.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Shuaibu Nuhu had been suspended from office to enable the EFCC to conduct an unfettered investigation into the activities of the suspended Director-General and other senior officials in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority. Captain Chris Najomo assumes office as the Acting Director-General of the NCAA immediately.

The stage was set for what happened yesterday at the Stakeholders’ Forum of November 2, 2023. At the forum, the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo showed the direction he was headed.

He practically made the chief executive officers who were present at the gathering look confused and uncoordinated, exposing the deep animosity and lack of synergy to improve the sector’s fortune.

It may just be to fulfill all righteousness and to prove to anyone that he held a meeting to ascertain the level of rot in the sector before taking a tough decision that was destined to come after the ‘Warri Retreat’ of  November 8, 2023.

Keyamo’s appointment was fair because it cut across the nation’s geo-political zones. It showed the spirit of fairness and was very balanced. The only eyebrow is the appointment of Captain Chris Najomo as acting DG of NCAA.

Not a few had questioned the appointment especially when he (Najomo) is alleged to be part of the core officers of people the EFCC is probing for financial malfeasance.

Others have alluded to Najomo’s professionalism as one of the people capable of turning the NCAA which had come under curious scrutiny.

The appointment brings to the fore the first time a woman would be appointed as the Managing Director of FAAN. Experts hope that her appointment will bring the desired result to the agency.

Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika may have set up some of the Chief Executive Officers to be sacked with his last-minute appointment that saw one of the best brains, Kabir Mohammed take over from Capt. Rabiu Yadudu few days before he exited office.

Odunowo who was a director in NCAA was moved to NAMA as MD. He replaced a very cerebral, hard-working, and brilliant Mr. Lawrence Mathew Pwajok who acted as MD for nearly two years. Pwajok had retired from NAMA after serving clocking the mandatory 35 years in service.

While one may not be able to question the rationale behind the Minister’s and by extension the President’s decision to change the chief executives, the removal from office of the Director-General of NSIB, Akin Olateru, the aircraft engineer was the poster boy of aviation in the last administration, elevating accident investigation to another level.

In a saner clime, Olateru would have gotten a better position for his exploits as Commissioner, of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and later as the DG NSIB.

He and Sirika were instrumental to the elevation of AIB to NSIB which was created by an Act of Parliament to investigate rail, aviation, maritime and road accidents.

His achievements are remarkable. He turned a hitherto obscure agency around for good and made accident investigation reports published as quickly as possible unlike in the past when accident investigative reports spent years on the shelf without benefits to the end users.

Akin as he is fondly called should hold his head up high for the many firsts he achieved as DG NSIB. He added tremendous value to the agency and enriched aviation safety with his knowledge of the industry and his proactive approach to issues.

The aviation industry is in the hands of newcomers except Umar Farouk Ahmed, Najomo, and perhaps one other who grew through the ranks, others are outsiders.

The sector is replete with outsiders that had come to do exceedingly well in the sector which is very interesting but highly intriguing. Let us hope that the new appointees will be spare pegs in square holes and solutions to aviation woes!

Wole Shadare