The minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo said that Steve Oronsaye’s report would have ‘killed’ the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), if not for good council and President Bola Tinubu’s decision to keep the organisation going.
The minister, who said the Oronsaye’s report had suggested the merging of the NCAA and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, noted that he had to convince the president and the members of the federal executive council for the NCAA to remain to this day.
The minister, who spoke over the weekend at the NCAA @25 Gala Night and award night said, “from the story of the former minister, you will see that the NCAA is a child of grace. Despite the troubled waters and many challenges, the NCAA has survived 25 years.
“Let me tell you my own story. You know the Oronsaye report recommended the merger of the NCAA and NAMA. That was also another attempt to kill the NCAA. That report was passed on from Jonathan’s government to Buhari’s government and then to the present government. So throughout the tenure of Buhari’s government, we couldn’t consider the report and incidentally, I am the only surviving minister from that government and it came up a few times in council but we couldn’t consider it.
“However, it came up in this government and we considered it. The Oronsaye report came up in the government and the president read through all items and asked members to vote. When the issue of the merger of NCAA and NAMA came up, I raised my hand and spoke for a few minutes. As a wonderful president and also one who listens to good counsel, he listened to me and after I finished speaking, he said, ‘item dropped’ NCAA and NAMA would not be merged.”
The NCAA’s director general, Captain Chris Najomo, reflected on the agency’s role in shaping Nigeria’s aviation landscape, emphasizing regulatory excellence and safety advancements.g
He said, “As we celebrate this milestone, we must look ahead to embracing new technologies, improving operational efficiencies, and fostering partnerships that will elevate our aviation industry.”
He reaffirmed NCAA’s commitment to the minister’s five-point agenda and President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritise infrastructure development, safety, economic growth, and job creation.
Also, former minister of Aviation and also former Director-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation, Dr. Harold Demuren has tasked the federal government with sustaining the training of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority staff or safer civil aviation in Nigeria.
Dr. Demuren who was DG from 2005 to 2013 and achieved the US FAA Category One status for Nigeria because of the quality of regulation and aviation safety said he couldn’t have achieved the feat without training and retraining of staff.
US FAA Category One status signifies that a country’s civil aviation authority has met the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards for safety, allowing airlines from that country to operate flights to the United States without restrictions and participate in code-share agreements with US carriers.
