The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority NCAA has said the forthcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) slated for the first quarter of 2022 is critical to the development of the country’s aviation industry as it afford.
ICAO the opportunity to assess the effective implementation of critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system in the country.
Similarly, the global aviation regulatory authority will conduct a systematic and objective review of Nigeria’s safety oversight system to verify the status of its compliance with the provisions of ICAO Convention.
Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu clarified that the exercise is not the same as Annexes 9 and 17 of the international body that deals with facilitation and adherence to Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) concerning the security of international air transport.
Capt Nuhu spoke against the backdrop of insinuations in some quarters that Nigeria was not ready for the ICAO exercise.
Whilst he admitted challenges in certain quarters that are being addressed, Nuhu insisted that the safety audit had nothing to do with either facilitation or security audits.
He explained that security had its own separate audit, stressing that Nigeria performed well in the last security audit conducted in the sector by ICAO.
According to the NCAA helmsman, at the last ICAO Security Audit (USOAP-CMA) of Nigeria – the Effective Implementation (EI), Nigeria Scored 96.4 per cent and the country received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance.
He disclosed that the USOAP-CMA Audit (security audit) is now scheduled for the third quarter of 2022, stressing that NCAA’s aspirational Effective Implementation (EI) score for the USOAP-CMA Audit is 90 per cent.
He said: ‘NCAA will step up its oversight function and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders to ensure continued improvement in aviation security and facilitation.
Security Audit is different from safety audit. What we are doing now is quite different from security audit and it’s not related to facilitation. I understand facilitation is good for passengers, but it has nothing to do with the current audit.”
“The last security audit we had, Nigeria scored 96.4 per cent and because of this performance, Nigeria received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance. Yes, I accept we have some challenges in the industry, just like in the other countries around the world. However, to say Nigeria is not ready for audit is a misnomer. Someone is saying we are not ready for two issues that are not part of the forthcoming audit.
I think that is wrong.”
Nuhu had declared last week at the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) annual training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria that the country was full prepared for the audit.
According to him, the NCAA was on top of its game to ensure a successful outing for Nigeria in the ICAO audit.
He added that its proactive approach and robust regulations had led to the over eight years of zero accident in commercial flight operation in Nigeria and vowed that the regulatory agency would continue to ensure excellence performance for the country.
