AfriSAFE: NCAA reels out plans to sustain zero air accident rate in Nigeria

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has reeled out plans it has to ensure it sustains the current zero air accident rate in Nigeria.

Speaking during the fifth edition of Africa Safety Award for Excellence (AfriSAFE) at the Federal Palace Hotel Lagos last week, Sylvia Peter Pero, the DGM, Consumer Protection, NCAA said that safety is the sole responsibility of NCAA and it has the oversight function to continuously monitor the airports and pilots on a daily basis.

“We have our procedures and principles and have our international body which is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which comes out with the standards which are the standards and recommended practices for all member states and the world at large.

“So, we follow those principles and it helps us with our operations. We operate on these procedures being given by the international body. We also work with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that deals with the airlines. Also for ACI, there are standards that we are supposed to follow, which will help in safety. For some years now, we have had zero accident records. The NCAA is taking its time and doing a lot to ensure safety,” Pero said.

She said the AfriSAFE event is a great one, where all aviation industry stakeholders should be so as to deepen safety consciousness in the aviation sector.

Also speaking at the event, Femi Da-silva, CEO AfriSAFE said the companies at AfriSAFE this year come from different parts of Africa who were selected after they met with criteria set out by the organisers of the event.

“We have criteria that are set before any organisation can be nominated for the AfriSAFE and one of the criteria is that beyond profit making, we want to be certain on what they are doing to increase safety awareness and consciousness.

Read also: Air passenger demand sees solid end to third quarter

“For individuals, we want to be certain that beyond what they are doing at their work place and the money they are making at their workplace, they are also impacting the world through their investments in safety. So, if we see companies across the world impacting their environment and the world through safety and health awareness, we celebrate them through the AfriSafe awards,” Da-silva said.

Da-silva stated that Africa is doing well as regards implementation of safety. “We may not have gotten there yet but we are definitely moving forward as we are making a lot of progress and we will get there.”

He noted that one of the major driving forces for sustaining the event is the passion to see a safer workplace.

“We have heard several news stories about people going out to work and they don’t come back home safely. So, it is always heartbreaking to hear this or you see someone working in a factory and the person comes back with his hands amputated. So, we are making efforts to ensure we reduce workplace accidents. This has always been the driving force for me.

“In five years, we have been able to create awareness to over five million people and we have verifiable data to prove this across Africa and across the world. We have been able to inspire health and safety professionals to be more proactive in the area of health and safety. You know when you inspire someone and the person is committed to health and safety, then the message would spread even faster,” he explained.

Oswald Magwenzi, CEO of Zambia Sugar who was also at the event said Africa as a continent is making progress in implementation of safety.

Magwenzi explained that those in leadership positions need to make sure they make safety their number one priority and allocate the needed resources to the area of occupational safety.

AfriSAFE, now in its fifth year, is an annual initiative dedicated to raising awareness and fostering collaborations in various aspects of Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE. It recognises and celebrates individuals, organizations, and groups that go above and beyond to create safe and healthy workplaces for the benefit of humanity. For this year’s edition, Victoria Adunola Samson, the Managing Director of BOVAS Group, and Oswald Magwenzi, CEO of Zambia Sugar, were selected for honours at the Africa Safety Award for Excellence (AfriSAFE) 2023.