The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) under the new dispensation has assured Nigerians of the absolute commitment towards enhancing communication in the country’s airspace.
Making this pledge was the Managing Director of NAMA, Mr Ahmed Umar Farouk after the in-house inauguration and induction of the recently newly appointed Chief Executives and Directors of the aviation agencies in Abuja.
Farouk while revealing how the agency had already got approval from the Federal Government to carry out the total overhaul and modernisation of Nigeria’s Airspaces communication architecture, used the opportunity to declare an emergency on power challenges based on the communication difficulty often encountered between air traffic controllers and aircraft pilots, as a result of epileptic electricity supply which he described as a national issue.
The NAMA chief executive pledged the dedication of his management team to among others, surpass expectations through tackling challenges and aligning with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope initiative and agenda.
Reassuring the public of NAMA’s unwavering commitment to optimal performance, with a focus on benefiting the Nigerian community, the NAMA MD declared: “The communication architecture of Nigerian airspace is now broadened, addressing issues that were prevalent before. We are dedicated to ensuring seamless communication between pilots and air traffic controllers.
“We have declared an emergency on power because the moment you don’t have power, it is very difficult to communicate signal into the air that the pilot will make use of and communicate. Those are challenges and we have that aspect of the satellite system.
“The performance is fast deteriorating. Electronics generally, the lifespan doesn’t go beyond 10 years. We are into 15 years of this product. What we are saying is that it is fast deteriorating and the government has acceded to our request to quickly modernise it and we are going beyond modernising. We want to key into the latest technology as far as surveillance system is concerned.
“Much is expected of us. We are not oblivious of the fact that there are challenges and they are normal. As human beings, we are expected to tackle those challenges and what we have signed today is in line with the five-point agenda of the minister and the Renewed Hope of Mr President. We want to assure you that we are going to make sure we implement all that is expected of us so that Nigerians can benefit from it.”
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