The Director of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Shuaibu Nuhu on Tuesday, told the Senate that the NCAA was not aware of the existence of a cargo airport in Wasinmi for which President Muhammadu Buhari earlier ordered the release of a N 2billion for its construction.
Captain Nuhu said that the agency was only aware of the existence of an airport in Sagamu, maintaining his stance even when Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah read a memo from the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika on the federal government approval for a grant of N2billion for the Wasinmi airport.
Nuhu’s persistent denial of the memo led to sharp arguments among Senators in the ongoing investigation by the Senate Committee on Aviation into the N2 billion Presidential grant for a cargo airport at Wasimi in Ogun State.
The Senator representing Ogun West, Tolu Odebiyi,who incidentally was Chief of Staff to the immediate past governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun however offered clarification as he said the proposed airport in Wasinmi was a passenger’s airport, not cargo airport.
“The NCAA was part and parcel of the project and necessary approval was sought and given for Wasinmi. It was not possible to put the agency in the dark about the project.”
But the Senator representing Lagos West and Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Olamilekan Adeola, faulted the explanation offered by Senator Odebiyi, citing the documents presented to the Committee by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
“Yes, the Minister of Aviation is in the picture but the Senate Committee and NCAA aren’t aware, we don’t have the documents. We have listened to you (NCAA) and you have established that you have a record for Sagamu airport, not Passenger airport at Wasinmi,” Senator Adeola noted.
Senator Adeyemi in his remarks however said the Ogun state government has the financial capacity to run two airports.
In a related development, the NCAA has explained reasons it suspended the operations of Azman Airlines, insisting that it is over safety concerns arising from the airline’s repeated disregard for industry standards and regulations.
Nuhu who maintained that the NCAA was doing its best to safeguard lives through surveillance and reprimand of erring airline operators further revealed that one of the local airlines, Azman was suspended because of a glaring breach of safety regulations.
He said:” We are doing all the best we can to comply with our mandates, and we do whatever is necessary to ensure safety.
“We have successfully managed the industry. Anytime we see any issue that is of concern to us, last night we suspended the operations of Azman, until we conclude the security and financial audit and compliance with civil aviation regulations. Until we are satisfied, they can’t resume operation.”
Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation and Senator representing Kebbi South, Ibn Na’ Allah however expressed reservation over the action of the NCAA.
He said the step taken by the aviation regulatory agency could cause panic in the industry. He specifically demanded what he called compelling issues that instigated the pronouncements of the NCAA.
He said: “It was wrong to ground operations without a very compelling reason. If there are incidents, it must be directly related to discrepancies in their operations. Are they related to breach of safety regulations, breach of Civil Aviation Regulations?
“We are interested in knowing what are the compelling issues. We need to be careful in exercising those powers. I am not faulting your operations. Grounding operations without compelling factors could create panic in the industry.
“You also know that the industry is heavily regulated. You can’t ground an airline, except they breach aviation rules. It could be non-compliance with equipment and facilities. You know the implication because tomorrow somebody will say people shouldn’t fly Azman because of your pronouncements. Of course, you have the power to ensure that they operate safely.”
The DG, NCAA in his defence gave detailed accounts of several incidents of breach of professional procedures and guidelines in the last six weeks by the management of Azman.
He said:” They have had incidents of tyre bursts within six weeks. They are issues of professional procedures, guidelines weren’t being followed. “
He recalled several attempts to make the operator of Azman airline sit up.
” We encouraged them to continue operations but resolved to do surveillance around their operations.
“But it is of concern to me, if you continue to have a similar problem. It will be irresponsible and criminal for us not to take action. Our action isn’t to kill the airline but to identify the problem and take necessary measures.”
Senator representing Lagos East, Tokunbo Abiru, sympathised with the operators as he noted that they are operating under severe financial pressures.
“We know what has affected the industry, the impact of COVID-19. If you look at that and the kind of safety and maintenance measures, which are all dollar-dominated, the operators must be under severe financial pressures.
“But we need to know how they are coping. How do we get assurance that all the participants are getting the necessary support and if need be what could be done?”
Senator representing Ekiti South, Abiodun Olujinmi, said Nigerians were justified in their apprehension however appealed to the DG, NCAA not to relent in pushing for adherence to safety regulations.
“Nigerians are losing confidence. You have established the fact that there is maintenance issue. You need to be on top of the game and the rule is money. If there is something we can do as a Committee, let us know.”
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Adeyemi, Smart Adeyemi however commended the NCAA for seizing the initiative to axe Azman.
“The step you took was right but we were worried because the particular airline belongs to the President of the operators.”
He further restated his appeal to the present administration to continue to give incentive to the operators. “We may have to have an interaction with the Central Bank of Nigeria, ” he said.
