By George Ozalla
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has warned that any attempt to reduce its statutory share of the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) could undermine aviation safety oversight and weaken the country’s regulatory framework.
The Authority said the proposal, currently before the National Assembly, seeks to reduce the NCAA’s allocation from the TSC in favour of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), a development it believes could adversely affect its ability to effectively regulate the aviation sector.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, maintained that aviation safety can only be guaranteed through a strong, independent and adequately funded regulatory authority.
He explained that the NCAA’s oversight responsibilities require continuous investment in manpower development, safety inspections, certification, surveillance and enforcement, stressing that any reduction in funding would inevitably affect the Authority’s capacity to discharge its statutory mandate.
Achimugu stated that the country’s improved aviation safety record and favourable performance in international safety and security audits were products of sustained regulatory oversight by the NCAA.
According to him, the absence of major air disasters in recent years reflects the effectiveness of the Authority’s regulatory activities.
“The reason planes are not falling from the sky today under this administration, unlike in the past, is because of the CAA,” he said, insisting that the regulator requires increased funding to sustain existing safety standards.
He further explained that under the existing statutory arrangement, the NCAA collects a five per cent Ticket Sales Charge and remits approved shares to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
Achimugu stressed that deductions are also made from the NCAA’s allocation by the Federal Government, making any further reduction unnecessary and capable of weakening the nation’s aviation regulatory system.
He noted that effective regulation depends largely on highly skilled inspectors who must possess superior technical competence compared to the operators they supervise.
“The staff of the regulatory agency must be better trained than the service providers they regulate. If inspectors do not possess superior technical knowledge, they cannot effectively enforce safety standards,” he further stated.
The NCAA spokesman added that the Authority’s intervention has equally strengthened the protection of passengers’ rights, saying its regulatory activities have continued to improve service delivery and accountability within the aviation industry.
He argued that while agencies such as NAMA were designed to generate sufficient revenue to sustain their operations, the NCAA functions as a cost recovery agency whose financial resources are dedicated primarily to safety regulation rather than revenue generation.
“The NCAA needs more funding, not less. We are a cost-recovery agency, not a revenue-generating one. Proper funding ensures inspectors remain well-trained and adequately remunerated, reducing the risk of compromise and protecting the flying public,” he stressed.
Achimugu disclosed that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had stepped in to resolve the disagreement among the affected aviation agencies.
He said the minister was already consulting with the parties involved and appealed to stakeholders to avoid public exchanges capable of inflaming the situation while discussions were ongoing.
The NCAA spokesman also dismissed reports suggesting that the Authority was indebted to NAMA, explaining that statutory remittances are processed directly by the Central Bank of Nigeria rather than the NCAA.
According to him, checks showed that the remittances were being processed by the apex bank, adding that claims that the NCAA was owing any agency were inaccurate.
