Posted by Oluyinka Akintunde and Musikilu Mojeed, Abuja on
The Minister of Aviation, Dr. Babalola Borishade, has directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to submit daily reports to him in relation to aviation security and safety in the country.
The Minister of Aviation, Dr. Babalola Borishade, has directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to submit daily reports to him in relation to aviation security and safety in the country.
The directive followed four airplane accidents in the past six weeks, which underscored the inadequacy of safety standards in the country's airports.
The directive, according to the minister, also applies to other parastatals such as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology.
Borishade, who gave this directive in Abuja on Tuesday during the formal handing over ceremony by the former Minister of Aviation, Mallam Isa Yuguda, stated that the nation's aviation industry was facing a number of challenges, which had exposed the inadequacies, inefficiencies and lack of operational facilities in it.
He said, 'This is coupled with abject neglect and non-compliance with international standards on safety and security amongst other factors. A number of events, revolving around runway inadequacies, equipment failure and near catastrophic accidents have recently made headlines in national dailies.
'The revenue forfeited owing to such occurrences that deter normal aviation activities is of considerable magnitude. Furthermore, the industry is fast becoming the object of negative image for the country."
The minister emphasised the need for the restructuring of the aviation industry in line with the ongoing reforms by the Federal Government.
He noted that the ability of the regulator/operator to guarantee adequate safety to its consumers was a key driver of the industry, pinpointing safety and security functions as the government's immediate challenges.
He added, 'We need to immediately tighten our surveillance by increasing our ramp inspection for both aircraft operations and airport boundaries. As a start, I want to receive in my office, daily reports of both pro-active and reactive positions of all parastatals in relation to aviation security and safety.
'Within the next two weeks, as I visit the airport facilities, I would like to be briefed on the emergency implementation plans of all airports so that we can carry out the right evaluation and inventory of the deficiencies which hamper the compliance of all gateway airports with international safety and security best practices."
A Lockheed Tristar plane, marked 5X-AAL had on Wednesday, July 13 overshot the runway at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, necessitating the closure of runway for more than 24 hours.
Barely a week before the incident, an Air France aircraft ploughed into a herd of cattle at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State.
Earlier on June 12, Chanchangi aircraft skidded off the runway of the Lagos airport, while an EAS's Boeing 737-200 crash landed on June 11 at the Jos Airport.
The Punch, Wednesday, 20, July, 2005