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Captain Musa Nuhu, DG, NCAA and Senator Smart Adeyemi, Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation during the oversight visit if the committee on NCAA at the weekend
Posted by Sade Williams
The Senate has urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to give priority to economic regulations of the sector above all other functions.
Senator Smart Adeyemi, gave this advice when the Senate committee on Aviation, paid an oversight visit to the Authority’s aviation house at the Murtala Mohammed Airport , Lagos at the weekend.
According to him, the Authority should not just focus on the number of airlines and companies applying for Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) but on whether the airlines and companies have the capacity and funds to handle what they have requested from the NCAA.
While responding to the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu’s revelation that the cost for the issuance of an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) in Nigeria is only $500 while that of Gambia is a whooping $200,000, Adeyemi said: ‘You must also ask questions about the kind of airline that is getting the AOC, you must ensure to know whether they have the resources to manage the airline or not, you must ensure to know whether they are formidable enough or not to do the business, not just giving the AOC but be fully involved.
“We need to make it more stringent in the bill that is before us.” , Adeyemi added.
While commending the DG for displaying professionalism in his job in the last one year, Adeyemi said he was sure President Muhammad Buhari made the right choice.
He said the commitment of the NCAA remains critical to the development of the aviation sector, adding the sector is still the one that determines the socio-economic interest and position of the nation.
“Safety and confidence of the flying public are very important, the sector must be developed, Nigeria is not doing badly in aviation but we can do better because many of our personnel have been exposed to world-class aviation” , he added.
