Aviation Regulators Prioritising Revenue Over Safety, Operator Warns

The Chief Executive Officer of Centurion Aviation Security Limited, John Ojikutu, has accused aviation authorities in Nigeria of prioritising revenue generation and commercial projects over critical aviation safety and security responsibilities.

LEADERSHIP reports that the aviation authorities in Nigeria are the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

Ojikutu, a retired Group Captain, expressed concern over what he described as the growing neglect of aeronautical services, particularly airport security, safety regulation and operational infrastructure. At the same time, government agencies continue to commit huge resources to non-aeronautical projects.

In a statement on Wednesday, the aviation security expert questioned the Federal Government’s spending priorities in the sector, noting that despite the inability to source about N36 billion over the past 26 years to settle the entitlements of former Nigeria Airways workers, authorities had spent more than N300 billion as aviation intervention funds for private airlines within the last decade.

According to him, many of the beneficiary airlines are still indebted to government aviation agencies to the tune of over N100 billion.

“While waiting or looking out to source N36 billion in the last 26 years to pay Nigeria Airways ex-workers, we have spent over N300 billion unrecoverable funds in less than 10 years as aviation intervention funds on private airlines,” he said.

Ojikutu also criticised the Federal Government’s planned expenditure of N712 billion on the reconstruction of passenger terminal buildings, describing such projects as non-aeronautical services that could have been concessioned to private operators to reduce the burden on public finances.

He cited the concession of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MM2) to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services in 2004 as an example of how private sector participation could save the government from unnecessary borrowing.

According to him, aviation authorities are concentrating excessively on commercial and revenue-generating services, while neglecting core responsibilities relating to safety and security management.

“We are not spending money on aeronautical services, including airport security, but senselessly only on non-aeronautical services,” he stated.

The retired officer further raised concerns over the absence of publicly available reports on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) aviation security audit, insisting that attention has been focused mainly on Nigeria’s safety ratings without corresponding emphasis on aviation security compliance.

He also referenced concerns allegedly raised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) over high airport service charges, which he said were contributing to increased insurance costs for foreign airlines operating into Nigeria.

Ojikutu warned that the one-sided development pattern at Nigerian airports could expose the sector to serious structural and security risks if urgent corrective measures are not implemented.

As part of his recommendations, he urged the government to prioritise the payment of outstanding entitlements owed to former Nigeria Airways workers and other retirees, while redirecting investments towards critical aviation infrastructure.

Ojikutu further advised the Federal Government to concession or privatise non-aeronautical airport services to capable private operators, citing companies such as Bi-Courtney, NAHCO and SAHCO as examples of private participation that could improve efficiency.

“We cannot grow globally if the eyes of those in the administration and management of our aviation sector are mainly on revenue generation from commercial services and tollgate collections,” he added.