Stakeholders Condemn Reps’ Directive to NCAA to Withhold NG Eagle’s Operating Licence

Chinedu Eze

Some stakeholders in the aviation industry have flayed the House Committee on Aviation for directing the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) not to issue Air Operators Certificate (AOC) to the new airline, NG Eagle, that was established by Asset Management Corporation of Nigerian (AMCON).

The stakeholders argued that the regulatory authority was autonomous and needs no interference from the National Assembly.

The House Committee, which gave the directive on Wednesday, had said its decision followed a petition jointly addressed to the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji, by the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, (ANAP) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) branch of the National Union of Pensioners, (NUP), alleging that AMCON acquired Arik Air properties and decided to change name to Nigeria Eagle Airline to evade payment of the monumental debts owed to all the aviation agencies by Arik Air.

The petitioners further alleged that AMCON had changed the livery on Arik Air aircraft to NG Eagle, which showed that it had fully acquired Arik Air assets but wanted to abdicate its liabilities through name change.

ANAP and NUP stated that they were petitioning the committee to restrict NCAA from issuing AOC to NG Eagle Airline to avoid a repeat of what happened in the case of Bellview Airlines which transformed to First Nation Airways and the aviation agencies ended up losing billions of naira owed by the defunct Bellview Airlines.

But reacting to the development, the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, told THISDAY that what the House Committee did was not in order, saying he award of operating licence is a process, which takes cognisance of safety and other critical factors and therefore should not be politicised.

Sanusi said the National Assembly cannot dictate to the NCAA because the regulatory authority is carrying out a responsibility that is globally acknowledged and domiciled with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

“This is very sad. AOC is a process governed by ICAO and therefore should not be politicised. But I have confidence in the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu because he is experienced and has international exposure.

“The world is watching us and hoping we won’t take the wrong steps. If the National Assembly dictates who would be given AOC, then over time they will decide the pilots that will be given operating certificate. I am sure NCA will not allow it to happen.

“We are trying to come to a reckoning in the aviation industry but some people are pushing us down. This is not good at all. The action of issuing AOC is guided by international protocol. The era of discriminating who to give AOC is gone. This time you earn it by merit,” Sanusi said.

Speaking in the same vein, the General Secretary of Aviation Round Table and former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd), told THISDAY that the National Assembly cannot interfere on critical issue concerning the issuance of AOC, which follows strict regulation.

“I am worried about the positions being taken by the legislators in affairs that are generally executive functions supported with legislations. We need to hear the legislators to tell us that the NCAA oversight functions on AOC and ground handling companies’ charges are beyond the authority responsibilities in the Nig CARs (Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations), which was approved by the National Assembly in 2006 and reviewed in 2012.

“The present NASS needs to direct their responsibilities towards legislative functions than to executive functions. Like someone said, they could make resolutions, which are not binding but given directives on the executive functions can create conflicts between them and executive,” Ojikutu said.

On his part, the President/CEO Sabre Network, West Africa and also the President of ART, Dr Gabriel Gbenga Olowo, described the action of the House of Representatives as that of an interloper.

“That amounts to interloping. I don’t think it is the responsibility of the congress (National Assembly) to direct NCAA to issue or not to issue AOC. There is established ICAO regulation; that no matter how powerful the Ministry is, which is the political arm of government, it can only wield influence but not to dictate to NCAA.

“The criteria to award AOC are under the purview of NCAA. That is the agency that has the right on who to issue licence to. NCAA is recognised internationally as an institution to regulate civil aviation. The autonomy of NCAA is not negotiable. We will be killing NCAA if we allow such interferences over its activities,” Olowo said.