…Seeks stakeholder collaboration
By Tobi Adetunji
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) has assured that preparations for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) slated for the first quarter of 2022 are in top gear and Nigeria is fully prepared for the impending audits.
The Director General (NCAA) Capt. Musa Shuaibu Nuhu made this known when speaking during the opening ceremony of the League of Aviation and Airport Correspondents (LAAC) training, at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
He was optimistic that Nigeria will excel in the exercise given her track record of excellence, proactiveness, an existing regime of robust regulations and over eight-year of zero accident in commercial flight operations.
Nuhu, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders including the media to join hands with the NCAA to ensure a successful audit.
Addressing the media specifically, he charged them to always reach out to appropriate and concerned authorities for verification before publication, as this will enhance balanced and objective reportage.
In his words; “From now on, all your reports are very sensitive. Let us eschew sensationalism capable of putting the nation in a bad light. Therefore, I will advise anyone to endeavour to verify and confirm his/her stories before publishing, if in doubt. It is my view that your watchdog role plays a very important part in fostering stability in the industry.
“These balancing, developmental and promotional stories are the hallmark of a burgeoning aviation industry like ours. Let us present our aviation industry as the most improved that it is. There is no doubt that there is increased confidence in the sector as new airlines are coming in and existing operators are expanding their routes. Expectedly, our coast of surveillance programme and other oversight responsibilities as the regulator of the industry have increased correspondingly,” he explained.
He noted that continuous human capacity development is one of NCAA’s administration core values, adding that NCAA considers training (including initial, on-the-job and recurrent training) as a key component of aviation development in Nigeria.
“Training and retraining is a capital project for us as it is critical to our operations as the country’s apex regulatory authority for civil aviation in Nigeria. Our personnel are exposed to appropriate training all over the world so as to maintain and enhance their competence,” he added.