By Cosmas Okereafor
Nigerian appear to have moved away from the era when devastating air crashes that rocked the foundation of the industry was the order of the day. Aviation safety anywhere is anchored on institutional memory in which case; inspections, certifications, and oversight functions cannot be over emphasized. The rules therefore that protect passengers of today is not accidental but rather a well strengthened approach, occasioned by painful lessons and difficult reforms essentially targetted to prevent ugly experiences of the past that befell the system, many years ago.The crash of Bellview Airlines Flight 210 in 2005, and that of ADC barely few weeks after Bellview debacle hitherto raised serious oversight question and also reinforced the need for stronger regulatory control. Years later, the tragic crash of Dana Air Flight 992 in Lagos again pointed to the fact that when safety barriers fail, the consequences can be catastrophic, not only for passengers onboard, but also for those on ground. Incidences and accidents however forced Nigeria to confront a hard truth which was; Aviation safety first hence government moved in, and strengthened all necessary regulations which forestalled putting the souls on board at risk.It was from those painful experience that led to significant aviation reforms currently being enjoyed till date.
The government, industry stakeholders alike including the international partners recognized that safety regulator alone, cannot effectively protect the public if it lacks the financial capacity enough to carry out rigorous oversight. Strengthening the regulatory system requires deliberate investment in; Technical manpower, inspector training, certification processes, surveillance programmes, and compliance enforcement ultimately.That journey which is inexhaustible as far as aviation practice is concerened surely helped Nigeria to build one of the most respected aviation oversight systems on the continent.Therefore, the bill currently before the National Assembly seeking to reduce the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) share of the 5% Ticket Sales Charge from 56 % to 40 %, while increasing the share of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), from 22% to 40% is most uncharitable and may adversely affect the smooth sail of the agency in discharging its statutory duties in the industry. While this move may appear as a routine redistribution of revenue among aviation agencies, the truth is that, It is a policy decision with potentially serious implications for aviation safety, regulatory independence, and Nigeria’s international standing.Simply put, the proposal is disturbing and for the fact that its debate is being approached from the wrong direction makes it more worrisome.
Recap that, a review of the 5% Ticket Sales Charge reveals that, the real issue is not merely the sharing formula, but the intent for which the charge was created abinitio.The philosophy upon which it was allocated and the persistent failure to ensure full remittance by operators remains the crux of the matter.Recall that the report of the Implementation Committee on the Establishment of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), published in May 1999 under the chairmanship of Engr. I. Mamman, deliberately established two different funding models for the two organisations. The NCAA was conceived as Nigeria’s independent safety and economic regulator with responsibility for protecting the travelling public through the oversight of the entire civil aviation industry. This is because, safety oversight is a sovereign responsibility that generates little commercial revenue but demands enormous financial investment, the Committee recognised that the Authority would ordinarily require government funding as the case may be.This is not eroding the financial autonomy necessary for effective safety oversight given the introduction of 5% Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sales Charge to enhance sustainable industry-funded mechanisms for financing the NCAA.Conversely, NAMA, on the other hand, was deliberately conceived as a commercial air navigation service provider that would progressively become self-funding through the statutory charges payable for the air navigation and related services it provides to aircraft operators.
Indeed, NAMA itself was carved out of the former Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which previously performed those functions. Today, FAAN remains a self-financing agency and receives no allocation whatsoever from the 5% Ticket Sales Charge. That was the same financial philosophy upon which NAMA was established. The initial allocation made to NAMA from the Ticket Sales Charge was therefore intended to facilitate its establishment and transition into a financially self-sustaining organisation, not to permanently supplement a service provider that already possesses substantial statutory revenue streams under its responsibility is the protection of public regulator, particularly as the complexity, scope and cost of aviation safety oversight continued to soar depending on the agency.Nigeria recently achieved an impressive 91.4% Effective Implementation score during ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP). That said, government should address the real source of the financial pressure affecting all beneficiary agencies by aggressively recovering outstanding Ticket Sales Charge indebtedness from airlines and strengthening enforcement mechanisms to ensure prompt remittance going forward. That approach would strengthen the finances of every beneficiary agency without undermining the independence of Nigeria’s safety regulator.
The solution to the financial challenges facing Nigeria’s aviation industry is not to cripple the regulator but to boost it operations.It is to strengthen the regulator, recover outstanding statutory revenues, modernise the financing of aviation service providers and preserve the financial autonomy that ICAO regards as indispensable for effective safety oversight.A nation that weakens its safety regulator weakens the safety of its skies.Nigeria must not make that mistake and should not be contemplated either now or in the future. Safety is everything in aviation.
