Until last week, regulators and agencies of government in the nation’s aviation sector have repeatedly boasted of Nigeria’s readiness for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) against the safety and security concerns experienced in the sector in the last few years.
The last ICAO’s audit was in 2016 and Nigeria came out victorious after the four-man team, led by Jean-Claude Waffo, in their preliminary report, commended Nigeria for the progress and development being made in the sector.
But, the gains of 2016 that made Nigeria excel have, however, been lost and stakeholders especially aviation experts are pessimistic that the nation would come out victorious in 2023 audit starting in few weeks time.
Though, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has assured Nigerians of preparedness, saying nothing is left to chance, but recent happenings in the aviation sector may have put a lie to that.
The NCAA director general, Capt. Musa Nuhu, at the 27th edition of League of Aviation and Airports Correspondents (LAAC), conference said Nigeria is prime to excel again as the nation has a lot riding on the modest credentials of existing regime of robust regulations and almost-a-decade of zero accident in schedule flight operation.
According to Capt. Nuhu who was represented by the director of Airworthiness and Standard, Engr. Gbolahan Abatan, said, “ICAO conducts the audit of every member state about every three or four years and hence would be auditing Nigeria. As you are aware, we are undergoing ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) yet again in August, 2023. We are on top of our duties, leaving nothing to chance in resolving deficiencies identified through the ICAO USOAP activities.”
“We are positive as our preparations are in top gear for the forthcoming audits. We are prime to excel again as Nigeria has a lot riding on the modest credentials of existing regime of robust regulations and almost-a-decade of zero accident in schedule flight operation.”
However, aviation experts have identified shortage of technical staff such as Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), Accident Investigators, among others in key aviation agencies in the sector as source of concerns.
The technical agencies that currently battle with shortage of technical staff are Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA); Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Others encumbrances standing against the ICAO audit are recent contamination of aviation fuel that led to the grounding of Max Air and that queries the regulatory oversight of NCAA.
Also, recent vandalisation of cables at the Lagos airport and the vandalisation and theft of aviation runway lightning of the Lagos airport and in January 2022, suspected thieves broke into an Arik Air aircraft parked at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, stealing valuable gadgets such as the flight management computer.
Also, runway robbers had attempted to open the cargo compartment of the taxing Boeing 737-800 belonging to Arik Air. That was the second of such foiled attempts recorded by the local airline.
The recent downgrade of the Port Harcourt International airport fire category over non-functional fire service. Also in December 16, 2021, it was the case of an ignorant auto-technician test-running a faulty car on Runway 18L and heading for a collision with an oncoming Max Air jet.
The above mentioned issues have shown that the nation aviation sector is not secured and the oversight functions are poorly carried out by relevant agencies. These may give the nation’s aviation sector a bad ICAO rating when the auditors arrive in few weeks.
Speaking exclusively to LEADERSHIP, the former military commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), wondered how Nigeria will be certified after the incursion, runway lightning stealing, and shortage of technical personnel in key aviation agencies.
“I have concerns about the performance of Nigeria in this year’s ICAO audit. The issue of airport incursions has been with us for many years and ICAO has it in its 2006, 2008, 2012 reports, etc including reports that we need security fences which up to date, we have failed to implement.
“I have been wondering how in spite of the incessant incursions, stowaway and now stealing of the runways lightning, the airports would have to be certified by the NCAA,”
Ojikutu said these security breaches were already in the ICAO checklists and wondered how NCAA would defend itself.
He said the implications of poor performance in ICAO’s audit are that the category of the airports will be downgraded and this will be passed on to International Air Transport Association (IATA) for its members and this could cause an increase in their insurance premiums and therefore further increases in airfares.
“There is very little to do now; NCAA needs to audit itself. It requires skilled manpower in sufficient numbers which for many years is lacking in every department of the authority and this makes oversight and enforcement of regulations on operators very ineffective.
“Before this gets done, the NCAA can revert to the subjects of oversights and retired skills to get valued manpower for its services and that is what the US Federal Aviation Administration does to retain its status over the ICAO audits internationally,” Ojikutu said.
On his part, a member of the Aviation Round Table Initiative (ARTI), Olumide Ohunayo, said said ICAO may identify these gaps and give NCAA some time to fix them.
He, however, bemoaned the recent safety issues across airports, some of which include aviation fuel contamination, downgrading of airport fire category in Port Harcourt airport and approach lighting capability among others.
Ohunayo said while the Port Harcourt airport downgrade impacted the international airlines that they had to divert flights, for other incidences, precautions were taken thereafter.
“Max Air aircraft were grounded for contaminated fuel and for the runway light, an alternate runway was made available. The impact of these will be directly on the cost of aircraft insurance and the cost of rentals for airlines and operators. It will also affect our reliability and credibility to sustain critical aviation safety infrastructure. We have expended so much on safety and security, only to have some of these issues,” he stated.
He continued, “What I see is that ICAO will look at the gaps and give us some period to fix those gaps and if we can fix those gaps, then we will be home and dry with the audit. What NCAA should do is corrective measures. Exporters from the oil industry will need to join NCAA in auditing fuel being supplied to airlines,” Ohunayo added.
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