The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NCAA

  • FG appoints new directors for NCAA

    The Federal Government on Monday approved the appointment of five new directors and one General Manager for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    They are – Group Captain Edem Oyo-Ita  (Director of Air Transport Regulations), Ahmed Abbas Sanusi  (Director of Human Resources and Administration), Bilikisu Adamu Sani (Director of Finance and Accounts), while  Odunowo Tayyib Adetunji  was appointed Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards.

    Engr. Ita Awak was appointed Director of Airworthiness Standards, while Lawrence Matthew Kwajok was appointed General Manager, Air Navigational Standards.

    The spokesman of NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, said all appointments take immediate effect.

     

  • FG recalls two sacked NCAA directors

    FG recalls two sacked NCAA directors

    The federal government has recalled two out of the nine directors who were sacked from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Friday.

    Those recalled are Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, Director of Consumer Protection, and Capt. Ayodele Sasegbon, Director of General Aviation.

    Mr Sam Adurogboye, General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    “I can confirm that two of the directors, Abdullahi and Sasegbon have been recalled and their sack rescinded,” he said.

    The government, through the Ministry of Transportation, had at the weekend sacked the duo and other directors in the aviation regulatory agency with immediate effect.

    The directors affected by the purge were Alhaji Salawu Ozigi (Director of Finance and Accounts), Dr Joyce Nkemakolam (Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards) and Mr Aba Ejembi (Director of Administration).

    Others are Mr Emmanuel Ogunbami (Director of Licensing), Mr Benedict Adeyileka (Director of Airworthiness), Mr Justus Wariya (Director of Air Transport Regulation) and Mr Austin-Amadi Ifeanyi (Director of Human Resources).

    The affected directors were immediately ordered to handover to their next subordinate who will in the interim take charge of the activities in their directorates.

    The government had on Oct. 12, 2016 sacked or demoted 22 directors and general managers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

    The restructuring was based on the recommendations of the Presidential Committee chaired by the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, had said the restructuring would be extended to the NCAA and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency which were also currently over bloated.

  • FG recalls sacked NCAA directors

    The Federal Government has recalled two out of the nine directors who were sacked from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Friday.

    The duo are Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi,Director of Consumer Protection, and Capt. Ayodele Sasegbon, Director of General Aviation.

    Mr Sam Adurogboye, General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

    “I can confirm that two of the directors, Abdullahi and Sasegbon have been recalled and their sack rescinded, ” he said.

    NAN reports that the government, through the Ministry of Transportation, had on Friday sacked the duo and other directors in the aviation regulatory agency with immediate effect.

    The directors affected by the purge were Alhaji Salawu Ozigi (Director of Finance and Accounts), Dr Joyce Nkemakolam (Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards) and Mr Aba Ejembi (Director of Administration).

    Others are Mr Emmanuel Ogunbami (Director of Licensing), Mr Benedict Adeyileka (Director of Airworthiness), Mr Justus Wariya (Director of Air Transport Regulation) and Mr Austin-Amadi Ifeanyi (Director of Human Resources).

    The affected directors were immediately ordered to handover to their next subordinate who will in the interim take charge of the activities in their directorates.

    It will be recalled that the government had on Oct. 12,2016 sacked or demoted 22 directors and general managers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

    The restructuring was based on the recommendations of the Presidential Committee chaired by the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, had said the restructuring would be extended to the NCAA and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency which were also currently overbloated. (NAN)

  • FG sacks nine NCAA directors

    The Federal Government on Friday approved the sack of all the directors in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) with immediate effect.

    In all, nine directors were shown the exit by the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, after the approval by the federal government.

    Those affected by the purge are – Alhaji Salawu Ozigi (Director of Finance and Accounts), Dr. Joyce Nkemakolam (Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards), Barr. Aba Ejembi (Director of Administration) and Mr. Emmanuel Ogunbami (Director of Licensing).

    Others are – Engr. Benedict Adeyileka (Director of Airworthiness), Mr. Justus Wariya (Director of Air Transport Regulation), Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi (Director of Consumer Protection), Capt. Ayodele Sasegbon (Director of General Aviation) and Mr. Austin-Amadi Ifeanyi (Director of Human Resources).

    The affected directors were immediately ordered to handover to the next in command in their various directorates who will in the interim take charge of activities in their directorates.

    The General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, confirmed the development, but declined to give more information on the matter.

    He simply replied that he was aware of the directors’ sack, adding that they were all political appointees.

    “It is true that all the directors have been disengaged, but I don’t have details of their disengagement,” he said.

     

     

  • NCAA fines airline N32m for violating safety rules

    NCAA fines airline N32m for violating safety rules

    •Pilot to pay N1.5m

    An airline, First Nation Airways and one of its pilots have been fined N32 million and N1.5 million by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for violating safety regulations.

    NCAA spokesman Sam Adurogboye, who said this yesterday, added that the airline and the pilot were fined for allowing a flight crew member to operate 16 scheduled flights without a valid medical certificate.

    The NCAA said the airline erred by allowing a crew member operate flights after his medical certificate had expired since November 1, 2016.

    A statement by the authority reads: “During  a Ramp Inspection on your Airbus A319 Aircraft with registration mark 5N-FNE at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), it was discovered that the pilot in command was not in personal possession of a current medical certificate neither was it readily accessible.

    “Consequent upon this, a Letter of Investigation (LOI) was sent to the airline and the pilot.

    “However, in their response, the pilot admitted violating Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) while the airline demonstrated lack of thorough knowledge of the requirements of the regulations.

    “Therefore, the airline has contravened the regulations by allowing a flight crew member to be rostered to operate a total of 16 nos scheduled flights on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th November, 2016.

    “These operations were carried out while his medical certificate had expired since on the 1st November, 2016, thereby rendering his pilot licence subsequently invalid from that date…

    “On this strength, the airline is required to pay a total sum of N32,000,000 only while the pilot will pay N1.5 million only, being moderate civil penalty for the violation. The fine must, however, be paid within seven days of receipt of the letter from the authority.

    “The NCAA, therefore, wishes to advise all airline operators to acquaint themselves properly with the NCARs to guide their operations as violation(s) is viewed seriously.”

  • NCAA: Nigeria earns N330.54b from ticket sales

    • Four-point agenda unveiled

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday said  the cumulative ticket sales by both foreign and domestic carriers hit over N330.54 billion in last year.

    Its Director-General, Capt Mukthar Usman who spoke with reporters in Lagos said: “From January to September, 2016, 8,030,816 passengers were airlifted with 130,745 domestic flights. Also, foreign passengers between January and September, 2016 was 3,272,331 and with 33,099. Total number of passengers was 11,344,936 and 163,833 flights in the past year.”

    He also unveiled a four-point agenda for its regulatory activities for the year.  These include sustainability of zero accident in aviation, reviewing and strengthening of economic regulation, improvement in consumer protection and continuous prioritisation of training.

    He said the NCAA will be more far reaching in scrutinising airlines’ operational books in addition to pursuing a regime where its consumer protection officers are highly motivated .

    Usman also listed faster processing and resolution of passengers’ complaints and replacement of ageing professionals as areas of focus for the authority this year.

  • NCAA gets knocks for planned Abuja Airport closure

    THE Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) has accused the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of failing in its duties.

    In an interview, its Secretary-General, Adulrazak Siedu Usman, cited the proposed shutdown of the Abuja Airport as one area where NCAA failed to act.

    He said the agency failed to issue a notice to airmen (NOTAM) on the unsafe state of the airport to enable the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) design a template for its repairs while flights were moved to an alternate airport in Kaduna.

    His words: “I am surprised at the lack of input from the aviation regulatory body, the NCAA.

    “It is irresponsible for the NCAA to keep mute in the face of high-level intrigues from people who want to truncate the repair of the facility that has posed danger to lives and property.

    Siedu queried the rationale for having a directorate of Aerodrome Standards at the NCAA, if such unit could not advise the government on the need to close Abuja Airport, rather than allow needless debates and rancour on the issue by uninformed persons.

    Siedu said it was the duty of the NCAA to ensure that any unsafe airport is shut down and that this should not be subject to debate.

    Also, Siedu faulted three aviation unions namely: National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) which wrote a letter to President Buhari to express opposition to the closure of the Abuja Airport.

    He said the unions were wrong in considering loss revenue above  safety of lives over use of a dilapidated runway.

    Saidu accused the three unions of pursuing a political agenda on the Abuja Airport closure, instead of being driven by safety interests.

    Saidu said: “ANAP supports the closure of Abuja Airport for its runway to be repaired. This is not negotiable. We cannot wait for an aircraft crash to fix runway. This is a safety critical issue.

    “This is why ANAP is disappointed over the letter written to the President by NUATE, ATSSSAN and NAAPE that the airport should not be closed.

    “This is a wrong position and highly unprofessional. Even, air traffic controllers have been complaining about the bad runway.

    “The NCAA has remained silent on the poor state of Abuja Airport runway.’’

  • Nigeria moves up in global aviation rating

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said Nigeria had attained another high level safety rating which placed it among the world leaders in aviation safety.

    The General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, disclosed this in a statement released on Monday.

    According to the statement, Nigeria climbed to Level three State Safety Programme (SSP) Implementation Process, joining countries like the United States, United Kingdom and others in the top position.

    “This categorisation is dependent on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which tracks the SSP implementation process of member-states via its Integrated Safety Trend Analysis and Reporting System (iSTARS),” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the NCAA spokesman as saying in the statement.

    “Member states in tandem, therefore, deploy this platform to undertake Gap Analysis, define their action plans and benchmark their progress.

    “Only two member states-Australia and Sri Lanka- have achieved full implementation of the SSP according to ICAO records.

    “Nigeria is striving to achieve Level Four, which is 100 per cent by the end 0f 2017.”

    The statement added that the SSP process is inaugurated in member countries in compliance with the ICAO requirements as contained in Annex 19 on Safety Management.

  • Arik accuses NCAA of ‘bad faith’ over sanction

    Arik accuses NCAA of ‘bad faith’ over sanction

    Arik Air has accused the  Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of acting in bad faith over its decision to impose a N6 million fine on the airline for its alleged  poor handling of passengers’ luggage from London.

    The airline said the official communication  procedure to respond to the alleged infraction has not been fully explored before the regulator went public with its decision.

    In its reaction, Arik Air’s spokesman, Banji Ola, said  NCAA’s action of publicising the letter before the airline had an opportunity to formally respond by the deadline stated in the letter, was  unprofessional.

    He said NCAA had invited the management of the airline to an informal meeting on Friday, December 16 where it explained the circumstances leading to the sequence of events and detailed the efforts it made to recover the luggage.

    Ola said the carrier did everything possible to ensure that the London passengers got their baggage in good time.

    He said: “When the airline’s wide body A330-200 aircraft was damaged by a ground handling truck, it deployed a B737-800 on the London route to minimise the disruption to the passengers. All passengers checking in from London were given a letter informing them of the capacity limitation and weight restriction on the aircraft type, and advised that some of their baggage would be delayed because of this and transported on the next available flight with capacity.

    ”All passengers were accepted on to the flight based on this understanding. However, after arriving Lagos, some of them formed pressure groups and took the laws into their own hands, disrupting the operations of the airline, assaulting the airline’s employees and destroying its property. Some of the airline’s employees were beaten and hospitalised and some of them are still receiving medical treatment as of date.”

    Ola said in order to address the reduction in capacity and backlog of baggage, the carrier leased another wide bodied A340-300 aircraft to complement its B737-800 aircraft to ensure the delayed baggage got back to Lagos in good time, adding that some of the passengers disrupted their operations for several days thereby making it impossible for the aircraft to operate from Lagos and return from London Heathrow before the night curfew, which further prevented the short landed bags from being recovered.

    Ola said that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security, did nothing to prevent the passengers from disrupting the airline’s operations, or in providing adequate security to the airline and its personnel to enable the flights to leave on time thereby preventing a quicker resolution in the recovery of luggage.

  • NCAA fines Arik N6m for violating passengers’ rights

    NCAA fines Arik N6m for violating passengers’ rights

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has fined Arik Air N6 million for breaching the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAR) concerning passengers’ rights and airlines’ obligation to them.

    Spokesman of the authority, Sam Adurogboye, who made this known yesterday, said the money should be paid within seven days, saying the penalty has been conveyed to the airline through a letter dated December 22, 2016  with reference No. NCAA/DG/CSLA/RM/1-06/16/439.

    He said Arik Air violated passengers’ rights for its failure to ferry passengers’ checked-in luggage on its London –Lagos flights on December 2, 2016, December 3, 2016 and December 4, 2016 respectively.

    The  NCAA, he said, has, therefore, directed the airline to pay $150 each to the affected passengers.

    Adurogboye  said the money should be paid to the passengers within 30 days as compensation for the inconvenience passengers suffered as a result of delayed arrival of their luggage.

    He added that the airline’s inability to make the luggage available within 48 hours after the passengers had arrived at their destination was in breach of relevant section of the law.

    “The NCAA  was inundated with complaints of delay and inability to ferry the passengers’ checked – in luggage on the Airline’s services from London –Lagos from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th December 2016.”