As the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) plans a two day nationwide warning strike, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed all aviation workers to report to duty as failure to do so will amount to sabotage of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP).
The NLC strike is planned against the backdrop of the removal of fuel subsidy with immediate measures to cushion the effects.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO) team arrived Abuja on August 28 for the much-awaited audit of the nation’s airports and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA) for the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).
The team started the audit from NCAA, going through safety critical processes, manuals, certifications, trainings and qualifications of technical personnel.
The team extended its work to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and may conclude the audit on the agency tomorrow, as all the aviation agencies where air safety is critical would be audited by the ICAO team.
This is why NCAA felt that it is pertinent that aviation workers should be on their posts while the audit is going on; otherwise, it would seem they chose to sabotage the audit and the international rating of Nigeria’s aviation sector.
A circular signed by Wakil Adamu from the office of the Director General, NCAA, with Ref. No: NCAA/DHR&A/03/1549/1/163, dated 4th September, 2023 and addressed to all aviation workers, it stressed on the need for the workers to be on their jobs while the audit is going on, noting the importance of the audit exercise, which it said cannot be overemphasised.
“This is to inform all members of staff that management has directed all staff to report to their duty post, failure to comply, will be taken as sabotage of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP). The importance of the ongoing audit in the aviation industry should not be over emphasized.”, the circular stated.
