For the umpteenth time, the need for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to be allowed to enjoy full autonomy in discharging its oversight duties topped the agenda at the stakeholders’ forum held at the instance of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, in Lagos.
At the forum, many key players urged the minister to use his good offices to give the regulatory body the teeth to bite in the course of doing its job.
Reacting, the Chairman of West Link Airlines, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, while commending the minister for calling for the stakeholders’ forum, which he said would help reshape the sector, emphasized the need for the NCAA to be empowered rather than being equated with service providers.
Mshelia, who attributed the inability of the NCAA to enjoy full autonomy to its weakened status, urged the minister to keep to his promise to grant the NCAA genuine autonomy and the freedom to make decisions without undue political influence.
According to the airline Chief, all service providers, including airlines, handling companies, NAMA, FAAN, and NCAT, should adhere to NCAA regulations by positioning it as the primary authority in the sector.
His words: “All service providers, whether you are an airline operator, handling companies, NAMA, FAAN, NCAT etc, all of us are subject to NCAA regulations, which means NCAA is ideally supposed to be the police of the industry; therefore, they are the number one.”
Calling on the minister to regard the NCAA as his direct advisor while respecting its expertise and independence, he equally emphasized the importance of accountability and listening to industry experts.
“We keep saying NCAA is autonomous; yes, indeed, NCAA is autonomous. How autonomous is the NCAA? Can the NCAA say anything, and the government will follow hook, line, and sinker? No!
“The minister touched on so many critical areas, and I am quite impressed with him; we must give him support and we must also tell him the right thing to do. We also expect him now to respect those of us with equal knowledge in the industry.”
He used the opportunity to identify areas where the minister needs to uphold his commitments, including ensuring that the second Abuja airport runway is only constructed after receiving NCAA’s safety approval.
Encouraging the minister to involve the NCAA in decision-making processes and hold them accountable for executing their responsibilities correctly, Mshelia declared: “NCAA must first make sure whatever design is brought means safety requirements before sending the contractor to the site; we must encourage him and take him to task on that one.”
“He should try and listen to NCAA in everything he does; he did say he would no longer issue contracts to anyone without talking to industry experts, and NCAA should be made to do the right thing.”
He praised the minister’s sincerity in addressing the industry’s issues and his commitment to resolving them within his official authority, saying: “He did a fantastic job yesterday; for the first time, a minister calling stakeholders, I am so happy.”
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