Aviation: NCAA to Unveil Draft State Safety Programme Document

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) yesterday in Abuja said that the country’s aviation industry State Safety Programme (SSP) document will soon be published, with its completion being accelerated.

NCAA disclosed that the SSP is an integrated set of regulations and activities aimed at improving safety in civil aviation.

The Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, in his welcome address said the document is required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and is unique to each member state.

He added that as part of the process to develop the SSP for Nigeria, the NCAA is hosting the ICAO-West and Central Africa (WACAF) Regional Office of the African and Indian Ocean (AFI) Region Plan-state Safety Programme (SSP) for Assistant Mission to Nigeria and the event began Monday in Abuja.

“The document has gone through some of the processes that are required. We have sent out the document to stakeholders for input and we have feedback,” he said.

The DG, represented by the NCAA Director Special Duties, Mr. Horatius Egua, also said the NCAA has planned a few more programmes like the physical stakeholders meeting in April 2025, and an SMS workshop for chief executives because the SSP will not succeed if the CEOs in the aviation industry are not partners’.

He further stressed that with technical support from WACAF-ICAO, it will help the NCAA bridge gaps that may not have been covered, adding that the technical mission programme will also help the Authority fast-track the implementation of the SSP programme.

Similarly, the National Coordinator SSP and the General Manager, Air Operator Certification and Surveillance, NCAA, Dr. Iteke Ifeanyi Chukwunomso,  maintained that the SSP is an integration of safety activities and safety requirements.

Chukwunomso added: “It’s not that we have not been doing that but now we are going to be more proactive and predictive because we don’t need to wait till an accident happens.”