A former member of the House of Representatives, Ossai Nicholas Ossai, has revealed that the National Assembly lacks a comprehensive record of investigations into air crashes in Nigeria, raising concerns over the effectiveness of legislative oversight in the aviation sector.
Speaking on Monday at a one-day capacity development training and retreat for aviation stakeholders, organized by the House Committee on Aviation in collaboration with key aviation agencies, Ossai questioned how lawmakers could properly oversee the sector without a proper database.
He noted that the absence of such critical information hampers effective lawmaking and policy reforms aimed at repositioning the industry.
He also called for an overhaul of the National Assembly’s oversight mechanism, urging lawmakers to ask tough questions about the sector’s challenges.
Expressing concern over the declining state of the aviation industry, Ossai lamented that only about three airlines are currently operating optimally in Nigeria.
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He also raised safety concerns, recalling his personal experience with a Dana Air flight that later crashed in Lagos in 2012.
He said: “We had gone to Lagos on oversight and returned to Abuja on that Dana aircraft with the then DG of NAFDAC. I felt something was wrong with that aircraft when we were coming to Abuja because we could feel some smell. We landed in Abuja and nobody checked it. Rather, it made a return trip to Lagos and eventually crashed.”
Ossai said the Nigerian aviation industry plays a critical role in the economic life of the nation, adding that the criticality of these roles is appreciable in the support it brings to economic development, providing both domestic and international connectivity for businesses, tourism, and government services.
He said with proper management, the sector is capable of providing enormous needed financial resources to the nation apart from the support it renders to affiliate sectors.
Unfortunately, he said, Nigerian aviation is better known for maladies such as ageing infrastructure, safety concerns, inadequate regulation, and a lack of sustainable investment, adding that these maladies have persisted over time hence the thinking that due to legislative engagement, the aviation industry can be repositioned.
He said the retreat is a rare opportunity for the National Assembly to redeem itself from the well-documented accusations of not being proactive in its policy advocacy and other legislative engagements
According to him, the era of safety reforms and regulatory strengthening (2000-2010) driven largely by a series of fatal air crashes such as the Bellview Airlines crash in 2005 and the Sosoliso Airlines crash the same year, exposed deep-rooted systemic failure leading to the enactment of the Civil Aviation Act of 2006 to strengthen safety regulations.
He said further that recent reforms and contemporary challenges in the sector present more of the ills in the industry than any substantive reconstructive engagement, adding that despite several waves of reforms, the Nigerian aviation sector continues to face significant challenges such as regulatory inefficiencies, infrastructural decay, financial Instability of airlines and policy inconsistency.
Ossai stressed that to remain competitive and sustainable, the global aviation industry has adopted several best practices and emerging trends that focus on operational efficiency, safety, environmental sustainability, digital transformation, and enhanced customer experience.
He said: “Technological advancement has become a cornerstone of modern aviation, enhancing operational efficiency, safety and passenger experience. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics; Blockchain Technology; and Internet of Things (IoT) have been helpful.”
He argued that there is a global push toward achieving carbon-neutral growth and adopting eco-friendly practices in the sector, adding that passenger experience enhancement that entails that customer satisfaction is central to airline competitiveness, leading to innovations aimed at improving the travel experience, made possible by Biometric technology; Contactless Travel; and In-Flight Connectivity.
He maintained that the Nigerian aviation industry has been a key driver of the nation’s economic development, facilitating trade, tourism, and national development.
He said despite its potential, the industry faces significant challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, safety concerns, financial mismanagement, and regulatory inefficiencies.
He said the National Assembly, as the central legislative arm of the Nigerian government, has the constitutional mandate and institutional capacity to influence the aviation sector through the development of policies, oversight of aviation agencies, and appropriation of funds for aviation-related projects, but regretted that the extent of its influence has often been undermined by issues such as political interference, resource constraints, and lack of specialized knowledge in aviation matters.
