Nine months after inauguration, committee on illegal charter operators may soon submit report

BARRING any last minute change, the report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Illegal Air Charter Operations and Related Matters will soon be out

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who dropped the hint, however revealed how the committee set up to probe the illegal charter operators shockingly discovered  several discrepancies in the system in the course of their investigations.

The committee which was earlier given three months to do its investigations and submit its report asked for extension in view of the large scope of the areas of probe.

According to Keyamo: : “They (the committee) sought for extension twice and they have done very extensive work. They are about to submit their report now, but in the course of their work, they uncovered a lot, but I won’t let the cat out of the bag now. In fact, they also grounded a few private operators who were caught in the act during their work.

“We are going to make our report public, but the three months was not enough for them. This is to show you how enormous the work is, led by Captain Ado Sanusi as the Chairman and Captain Roland Iyayi as the Vice Chairman. So, we are expecting their report any moment from now. They actually sought my extension.”

The minister had on June 27, 2024, set up a Ministerial Taskforce on Illegal Air Charter Operations and Related Matters.

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This follows several complaints by legitimate commercial air charter operators and on the back of disturbing security reports emanating from the country’s security institutions, alleging amongst other things illicit money laundering and nefarious drug smuggling operations.

The committee had earlier  in a preliminary report made open to aviation journalists at ikeja exposed how some private foreign registered aircraft were used for illegal charter operations by some chartered operators in the country.

The committee also fingered high-net-worth individuals in the scandal, which has consistently put a question mark on the adherence to regulations by the Private Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) licence holders.

The committee in its preliminary report, had alleged that the illegal act was not limited to small time operators alone, stressing that the conditions attached to the issuance of the PNCF are grossly violated by the operators.

The managing director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi was appointed as the  Chairman of the committee while the managing director of Topbrass, Captain Roland lyayi was selected as its Vice Chairman.

Keyamo also used the opportunity to announce that the Maiduguri International Airport would be ready for international operations in the next few weeks with all the required facilities ready for smooth take off.