-By Abdulkarim Sani
There have been concerns by stakeholders and industry players over the inability of the Federal Government to constitute boards of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Aviation. As it stands, all the agencies under the Ministry have been without a board of directors for six years now.
These agencies include: Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The development has slowed down the pace of growth in the industry due to the inability to constitute boards of the said agency.
According to the Act establishing them, they are saddled with the responsibility of stipulating the terms and conditions of service for employees, review of annual reports of the management for submission to the President, present annual budget estimates of the agency to the Minister, record-keeping, and audit of the agency among others.
As such, at a recent roundtable meeting, experts in the sector registered their displeasure of the decision of the Federal Government. They urged the Federal Government to, without further delay, constitute the board of these agencies.
The General Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Abdulrazaq Saidu, stated that “the failure” of the Minister to inaugurate boards for the agencies was a disregard for the rule of law.
Saidu noted that ANAP had written letters to him to remind him of this oversight.
“But he has failed to respond to any of our letters on the issue. Aviation workers are suffering because of the several actions of the Minister since he came on board. For instance, training of personnel has been relegated to the background in recent years. That would not have been the case where there are Boards,” Saidu said.
A former General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Olayinka Abioye, offered that the non-inauguration of the boards underscored the rot in the aviation sector.
“The implication is that the Minister wants to still control the happenings in the parastatals. You are aware that by the Acts establishing these agencies, they are supposed to report to a board, and in the absence of a board, the Minister takes charge,” Abioye stated.
He wondered why the Minister had to disregard President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to constitute boards of agencies, especially considering the critical role they play.
“The Minister and the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the agencies have a limit on what they can approve and spend without recourse to the BoDs. Some of his activities, over the years, indicate that he has flagrantly disobeyed the extant rules for the industry,” he added.
Another aviation stakeholder, who spoke at the event, Dare Ayina, stated that it was baffling that the agency was still battling with the problem of constitution of the boards.
He stated that the worst hit sector by the pandemic should not be left “suffocating”.
“Critical decisions are needed to drive the aviation sector now that it is just recovering from the global pandemic. However, without the board of these critical agencies, how can they function?
“The director general or managing director has limits to decisions he can take, and these boards are needed to function, especially at a time when COVID-19 dealt a huge blow to the sector. I urge the Minister to hasten up the process of constituting these boards in order to drive growth in the sector,” Ayina said.
Major aviation regulators in Nigeria
The major aviation regulatory body in Nigeria is the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which was set up under the Civil Aviation Act 2006. The agency is responsible for regulating air navigation in Nigeria. It is also responsible for registration and inspection of aircraft in Nigeria; issuance, validation, renewal, extension or variation of certificates and licences; inspection and regulation of aerodromes and aircraft factories; and personnel licensing.
The authority is further empowered to make regulations with regard to civil aviation generally.
The Civil Aviation Act gives the Minister of Aviation supervisory authority over the NCAA. The Minister is responsible for the formulation of policies and strategies for the promotion and encouragement of civil aviation in Nigeria and empowered to give directions to the authority on certain matters specified in the Act.
Similarly, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), established by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria Act 1996, is the body responsible for maintaining and managing airports in Nigeria. Its basic functions include: the development, provision and maintenance of all necessary services and facilities at airports and within the Nigerian airspace, for the safe, orderly and economic operation of air transport.
Also, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) was established under the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency Act 1999. The key functions include: the provision of air traffic services in Nigeria, including air traffic control, visual and non-visual aids, aeronautical telecoms services and electricity supplies relating thereto.