BEVERLY HILLS, May 02, (THEWILL) – Key players in the nation’s aviation industry have given high ratings to the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu, noting that he brought sanity into the system, one year of assuming office.
Capt. Nuhu on Monday, March 16, 2020 formally took over as the substantive Director General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the NCAA.
Nuhu resumed as the 7th Director General of the Authority, following his appointment on 23rd October, 2019 and eventual confirmation by the Senate
NCAA is the regulatory body for aviation in Nigeria which became autonomous with the passing into law of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 by the National Assembly and assent of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Act not only empowers the Authority to regulate Aviation Safety without political interference, but also to carry out oversight functions of Airports, Airspace, Meteorological Services, etc as well as economic regulations of the industry.
Aviation industry on its own is a highly regulated one and that makes the CAA of any country pivotal to the safety of flight operations within and outside their airspace.
One year after resumption as the NCAA helmsman, operators in the aviation sector believe that Capt Nuhu has brought sanity into the system by raising the bar in the agency’s regulatory roles.
Recently, unfolding events in the aviation industry has put the agency to a spotlight with a larger percentage of stakeholders scoring the current NCAA management high in terms of regulations.
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.
Relaying his experiences in the process of acquiring AOC, Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, High Chief Okonkwo commended NCAA for the diligence and due process adopted in issuing them their AOC.
Okonkwo said “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”.
Speaking about the dynamics of civil aviation regulations, renowned aviation trainer and CEO of WestLink Airlines, Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia said aviation has a process which is one of the most regulated industries in the world.
Mshelia pointed out that, it is the normal thing for any aviator to readily acknowledge the industry as the most regulated, emphasising that, the industry cannot be over-regulated.
The airline operator argued that, the current regulation needs more of operators’ voices, because when the rules were made, some of them were made in a hurry to enable approvals of certain requirements.
Explaining further, Mshelia said “let us do the thing thoroughly and build this thing from the ground up. When you want to start from the middle up certainly there will be issues and there will be problems. So, aviation in itself needs to be regulated the way it is; whether there are lacunas here and there, obviously there are.
He stated that, there is no place all over the world where you can find anybody who likes the CAA, adding “I have operated in the US, nobody likes the FAA, I have operated in Ghana and most of them don’t like the Ghana CAA, I have operated in Gabon, same thing, I have operated in Cameroon, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Dakar, Senegal and it is same thing around the world, CAA is CAA it is just the way the world is”.
He however, concurred that there is a Nigerian factor in everything we do, adding that we shouldn’t put all blames on the NCAA alone, even as he noted that operators are part of it too.
“So we don’t say that is the CAA; even we the operators too, there are Nigerians factors in attitude as far as safety is concerned. We would never have made category if we are not doing things right, we are doing things right”, he said.
“An operator is responsible for his day to day operations and safety and NCAA is just to make sure they do it right and if you don’t, they just come in there and stop you. We are actually supposed to be the ones regulating and maintaining for ourselves”.
Meanwhile, part of Capt Nuhu’s achievement is his strictness in enforcing the rules of the game. In March this year, under the eagle eyes of the regulator, 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, with effect from March 15, 2021.
The suspension which came following series of incidents involving Azman Air Boeing 737 Aircraft was to enable the Authority conduct an audit of the airline to determine the root cause(s) of the incidents, and recommend corrective actions to forestall re-occurrence.
Before the audit report, Mshelia had applauded the NCAA decision, noting that safety issues are sacrosanct in the aviation industry.
Still under Capt Nuhu’s regime, restructuring of NCAA was successfully implemented in September, 2020, by the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika as part of efforts geared towards streamlining the government agencies.
Under the restructuring midwifed by Nuhu, the Consumer Protection Directorate (CPD) was merged with the Directorate of Air Transport Regulations (DATR). Also the Directorate of General Aviation (DGA) was merged with the Directorate. Also, the Directorate of Operations and Training (DOT) was merged with Licensing.
However three Directorates: Directorate of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS), Directorate of Human Resource and Administration (DHR&A) and Directorate of Finance were retained.
With these positive changes recorded in just one year of his administration, there is no doubt that Capt Nuhu is fully prepared to take Nigeria’s aviation industry to the next level and ultimately ensure safety which is the backbone of aviation worldwide.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
