Former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Sule Ozenua has warned that subjecting critical safety issues to political debate would finally kill the beleaguered aviation industry and make Nigeria lose international ratings it has gained over the years.
Ozenua advised the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, the Ministry of Transport and House and Senate committees on aviation to allow the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to handle critical safety issues in the industry because it is recognised worldwide as the regulator of Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Ozenua, who spoke exclusively to THISDAY in Lagos on Tuesday, was reacting to the debate the planned closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for the repair of its runway was subjected to before a decision taken for safety reason was upheld by the Senate and said such trend was dangerous and retrogressive for the industry.
He said that the fundamental principle of air travel is “safety and expeditious movement of passengers and goods” and this should take priority over economic and convenience considerations, adding that what the Senate did in trying to obstruct the decision to close the airport could diminish the rating of Nigeria at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which would consequently affect the insurance of aircraft operated in Nigeria, as it would be noted that they operate in a very dangerous terrain without proper regulations.
“What one would have expected is that the scenario should have been defined by security consideration and that is where the industry regulator, NCAA comes in. NCAA knows the nature of safety at the airports. The regulatory body should be allowed to do its job. With NCAA there is a lot of international involvement. International aviation agencies recognise NCAA. Aircraft insurers recognise NCAA, as they carry out their certification and regulatory responsibilities. But unfortunately what they did was to subject critical issue to political debate and this is embarrassing to Nigeria,” Ozenua said.
He said that the Director General of ICAO, Dr Bernard Aliu, who is a Nigerian would be embarrassed by what happened in the Senate, adding that another Nigerian and the Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma is the President of Airport Council International (ACI), Africa and this goes to show the stature of Nigeria in global aviation.
“It is unfortunate that they went outside safety, which is the main reason why the airport is to be closed. It is necessary to follow the protocol. This is not the first time we have had airport closed for work to be done on the runway. It has been done severally,” Ozenua said.
He also noted that it was high time a second runway was built at the Abuja airport because no international airport as busy as that of Abuja can operate with only one runway, disclosing that the master plan of the airport has two runways and it was expected that few years after the airport was put into operation the construction of the second runway would be done, but the airport has operated for over 30 years with only one runway.
