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Stakeholders warn Nigeria may lose category one status in aviation

By BusinessNews Staff on March 25, 2014

Stakeholders in the Nigerian Aviation industry have expressed concern over recent developments in the sector of the national economy, warning that urgent steps must be taken to avert the danger of the country losing its Category One status.

The stakeholders in a professional roundtable at the weekend in Abuja, gave this warning, stressing that the developments in the sector was “worrisome.”

President of the group, Mr. Ayodeji Kareem and the Executive Secretary, Ms Ifeyinwa Okonkwo, raised the alarm that President Goodluck Jonathan had allowed a vacuum in the administration of the aviation ministry by not promptly appointing a substantive minister to oversee this important sector of the economy.

According to Kareem, the concern stems from the imminent danger the status-quo poses to the nation’s Category One status in international aviation rating.

He said: “It is an American standard accepted worldwide and involves evaluating whether a country’s oversight of its air carrier, which operates or seeks to operate into the United States complies with minimum international standards for aviation safety.

“The evaluation revolves around the efficiency or otherwise of a country’s civil aviation authority in discharging its regulatory function, retaining qualified technical personnel and providing adequate oversight and surveillance of air carrier operations,”Kareem said.

He noted that the “Aviation inspectors are due to arrive soon in Nigeria on a routine assessment of safety and standard compliance practice.We are concerned because the whole aviation sector and its agencies are in disarray presently and the supervising minister seems unaware of the enormity of the task given to him,” he said.

Kareem said the professional group had incontrovertible evidence that the former minister, Ms Stella Oduah, is still calling the shots, interfering in the affairs of the aviation agencies.

On March 7, he said more than a month after she left office, Oduah reportedly hosted the new heads of aviation agencies in her house, ostensibly to issue orders on how to run their beats, adding “this is ridiculous to say the least.”

He continued: “We are particularly concerned with the seeming instability at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) whose function is central to the evaluation of international assessors.

“It is regrettable that the agency has been highly politicised by the former minister, who appointed cronies to do her bidding and also diluted and weakened the regulatory strength of the NCAA by recruiting unqualified personnel, after increasing the directorates at the agency from six to 10, not on any rational basis but to create jobs and fix her errand boys.

“The latest arm-twisting interference of Oduah is her bid to bend the rules on retirement of government employees, who have attained 68 years of age or have worked for 35 years. The director who acted as head of NCAA when the bullet proof cars scandal was hatched is due to retire in June, this year, when he would become 60.

“Finally, we urge President Jonathan to stabilise the aviation sector now so that the relevant agencies can do their jobs diligently. It is unacceptable that we allow sentiments to becloud our sense of national pride. The loss of Category One status has a huge impact on the economic prosperity of our aviation industry. We must not let it happen.”

[Punch]

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