18 months in office: Key players score DG NCAA high

Stakeholders across the country’s aviation sector have commended the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu for bringing sanity into the sector within 18 months of his taking over the mantle of leadership of the regulatory agency.

In their assessment of the performance of the NCAA DG in the outgone year, the key players who affirmed how within the period of his assumption of office. Nuhu was able to raise the bar in the sector through his policies, citing unfolding events in the sector which they said put the agency in the spotlight with a larger percentage of stakeholders scoring the current NCAA management high in terms of regulations.

Among the achievements recorded since he took over as the substantive Director General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the NCAA on March 16, 2020 according to stakeholders included the high number of airline operators who scaled through the acquisition of their Air Operators Certificate (AOC).

“For instance, operators who were able to scale through their acquisition of Air Operators Certificate (AOC), under Nuhu’s regime have attested to the fact that NCAA is up and doing in pursuing its regulations for both airlines and other stakeholders in the industry.

“So far, the United Nigeria Airlines is the first baby of the current management of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). After rigorous examination by NCAA, which included test flights, the agency granted the airline an AOC, on 1 February 2021, which will be valid until 31 January 2023.

The Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Chief Obiora Okonkwo while relaying his experiences in the process of acquiring his airline’s AOC, commended NCAA for the diligence and due process adopted in issuing them their AOC.

According to Okonkwo: “within this period, NCAA has been very diligent in the processing of AOCs. We are happy and grateful to God that we were able to scale through this their very, very strict and stringent processes. Today we are flying”.

Other key players who spoke in line with the United Nigeria Airline Chairman identified Nuhu’s scorecard to include his ability to strictly  enforce the rules of the game with particular reference to how earlier in the outgone year, the, NCAA, pursuant to Section 35 (2) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3 (A) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2015, suspended the operations of all the Boeing 737 Aircraft in the Fleet of Azman Air Services Limited.

The suspension which came following series of incidents involving Azman Air Boeing 737 Aircraft was to enable the Authority to conduct an audit of the airline to determine the root cause(s) of the incidents, and recommend corrective actions to forestall recurrence.

Since then, safety compliance of virtually all the airlines had improved drastically which on the global map had made it possible for the NCAA DG to resolve five cases on Cape Town Convention on Mobile Equipment thus creating international confidence in oversight function of NCAA.

His management of air travels since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has also been listed as one of his achievements as witnessed in the professional prowess of developing and implementing the COVID-19 industry restart programme before the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART).

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.