NCAA Prepares for ICAO Audit as Authority Pushes for Review of Civil Aviation Act

Chinedu Eze

As the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) prepares for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit, the agency has embarked on the move to review of the Civil Aviation Act to ensure it aligns with international standards and recommended practices.

The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) audit, conducted by ICAO, is an activity during which ICAO assesses the effective implementation of the critical elements of a safety oversight system and conducts a systematic and objective review of a State’s safety oversight system to verify the status of its compliance with the provisions of ICAO Convention.

In line with the civil aviation regulations as enshrined in ICAO mandate, NCAA is reviewing the Act to ensure that it dovetails with ICAO regulation, which is a critical guldeine to civil aivtaion in the world.
NCAA said the new Civil Aviation Act 2022 would ensure efficiency of the aviation sector as it has inculcated all new standards, annexes and international best practices laid down by (ICAO).

This was disclosed by the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu and the Legal Adviser to the agency, Emmanuel Chukwuma during a virtual meeting with aviation correspondents in Lagos.
Chukwuma said apart from ensuring compliance with some new ICAO standards and Annexes, one of the reasons Nigeria reviewed its Act was to strengthen the regulations with a view to providing robust framework for sector’s development and for the Civil Aviation act (CAA) to focus more on its core functions of ensuring air safety in Nigeria.

He added that by reviewing the Act, the nation has also prepared for the audit findings by ICAO and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States of America, among others.

Nuhu stated that the new Act would ensure the sector contributes more to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than it currently does.
“Apart from other critical things which the sector needs to prepare for, the more we contribute to the GDP, the more attention will be given to us,” he added.
Nuhu further disclosed that the schedule operators would now have five years validity of Air Operators Certificate (AOC) while the non-schedule carriers will have three years.

“We are working on the review of the current validity. Within the first or early part of the first quarter of next year, it will come into effect and it will explain who is entitled. As soon as it is internally done, we will release the new review,” he assured.
The current Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAR) 9.1.1.8(a), stipulates that ‘An AOC, or any portion of the AOC, issued by the Authority is effective and valid for twenty four (24) months’.

In the new Act, Section 9(1) stipulates that the Authority shall have power to: (a) investigate whether any person, body or entity has committed an offence under the Act: (b) enter into any premises, property, aircraft, aerodrome or conveyance without warrant for the purpose of conducting search or inspection in furtherance of its functions under the Act: (c) prosecute offenders under the Act: (d) trace, seize, detain or retain the custody, for the purpose of investigation and prosecution, of any property which the Authority reasonably believes to have been involved in or used in the commission of any offence under the Act and (d) seal up premises upon reasonable suspicion of such premises being involved in or used in the commission of any offence under the Act
Section 11(3) stated that the Director General may be removed from office by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate

Section 23(10) says under the 5 per cent of airfare, contract, charter and cargo sales charge, Section 23(10) says that an air operator which fails to remit to the Authority, within the time specified in the regulations the 5 per cent charge, commits an offence and its directors are each liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000,000 or imprisonment for a period of two years or both, among others.