The unexpected sack of six directors from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is deserved because of the poor economic and financial oversight of domestic airlines and the nation’s airports, experts tell BusinessDay.
They argue that the takeover of two of Nigeria’s major domestic airlines, Arik Air and Aero Contractors, by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), over high debt profile of N300 billion and N200 billion, respectively, could have been avoided if the authority carried out its economic audit as stipulated in its regulations.
“How do you explain the indebtedness of many years by Arik and Aero in spite of the provisions of Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, (NCARs) economic regulations? How does NCAA explain the incessant cancellations or delays of flights because of bad weather of just 300m when there are safety service facilities for flight operations in inclement weather but no oversight was carried to ensure that such facilities were periodically calibrated?
“How does NCAA explain the absence of periodic maintenance for the nation’s airports runways to the extent that airports have to be shut down to carry out repairs on runways as it is currently planned for Abuja, and it was in Port-Harcourt? What action did NCAA take to review the security programmes of an airline that thrice had cases of stowaway?” John Ojikutu, security expert and the former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, raised these issues during a talk with BusinessDay last week.
Ojikutu disclosed that there had been over 150 safety recommendations from Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which a ministerial committee on aircraft accidents observed but after 10 years the NCAA has not implemented as at December 2014.
NCAA’s Regulations on airlines financial health Part 18.10.3 states that all Nigerian licensed airlines shall submit to the authority on a monthly basis, all financial data and records on their operations in the form and manner as may be prescribed by the Authority.
Six directors were fired by Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, on February 24, following the order from the Federal Government.
Those affected include Salawu Ozigi (director of finance and accounts), Aba Ejembi (director of administration), Benedict Adeyileka (director of Airworthiness), Justus Wariya (director of Air Transport Regulation), and Austin-Amadi Ifeanyi (director of Human Resources), Sidi Abdullahi (director of Training).
John Osadolor, aviation expert, said the financial state of airlines did not get to an abysmal state overnight ‘’for the NCAA to have responded only after AMCON had reached a conclusion to take over the management of the airlines and this is part of the issues that led to the sack of the directors at NCAA.
“NCAA has failed to do its economic audit on all the airlines regularly. This does not only apply to the airlines but to all the other agencies such as Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) and Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
“The Abuja runway is bad today because the NCAA did not advice the federal government on the repair of that runway at the right time. It is a shame that the decision to repair the runway was decided by the federal government and not NCAA.”
But Sam Adurogboye, general manager, public affairs, NCAA, said NCAA is not to be blamed for financial situation that airlines find themselves today, adding that if airlines are managed properly, use the right equipment for the right destinations and apply corporate governance, then they will excel.
“As at the time NCAA started in January year 2000, we had about 150 airlines in our register. In 2006, it reduced to 28, the rest went under and today the numbers of domestic airlines in Nigeria are just eight. It was not because NCAA did not do their regulation well, rather it is because we do what we need to do to ensure safety, that is why those that did not meet up to existing regulations will naturally die,” Adurogboye said.
“If anyone is saying NCAA did not manage any airline going under, then it means they are saying we should run business for the owners and that is against the prescription of International Civil Aviation Organisation, (ICAO). We do not run airlines for the owners or run feasibility service for the owners.
“There is no country where airlines are not going under. United States has the greatest number of mergers. If big carriers in the US are merging, why do we think airlines cannot merge in Nigeria? Businesses must run on proper corporate governance. It is not within the privy of regulatory authority to say who will be the accountant or managing director,” he explained.
He said in the midst of the challenges facing airlines in the country, there are domestic airlines that still pay their bills as at when due. You run airlines using the right equipment for the right operations.
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