By FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has warned that actions capable of reducing its statutory revenue could weaken its operations and affect aviation safety oversight.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, Mr Michael Achimugu, gave the warning at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

Achimugu said the concern followed moves to reduce the NCAA’s share of the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) in favour of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

He said the NCAA was established as a self-sustaining regulatory body, adding that a bill on the issue was already before the National Assembly.

The director warned that reducing the authority’s financial capacity could affect its ability to carry out regulatory oversight effectively and potentially expose air travellers to safety risks.

He recalled that the NCAA is mandated by law to collect five per cent TSC and remit portions to NAMA, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) as prescribed.

Achimugu said aviation experts had noted that in countries where air navigation service providers were commercialised or privatised, such agencies were largely self-funded and not dependent on government allocations.

He said the NCAA, as the aviation safety regulator, required adequate funding to maintain its oversight responsibilities, including training and equipping inspectors.

“The NCAA, as a safety regulator, was to be funded by government. However, the five per cent TSC was introduced to reduce that burden.

“Yet, from this major funding window of the Authority, government still ceded a significant portion to other aviation agencies to support their revenues,” he said.

Achimugu stressed that regulatory inspectors must have higher technical competence than service providers to effectively enforce safety standards.

“If inspectors do not possess superior technical knowledge, they cannot effectively enforce safety standards,” he said.

He attributed Nigeria’s improved performance in international aviation safety and security audits, as well as better protection of passenger rights, to the NCAA’s regulatory efforts.

“The reason Nigeria continues to excel in safety and security audits is because of the NCAA. The reason passengers’ rights are better protected today is because of the NCAA,” he said.

The NCAA spokesman urged stakeholders to consider the implications of reducing the authority’s funding, noting that aviation regulators globally require adequate resources because of their role in protecting lives.

He said agencies with independent revenue-generating mandates should focus on developing their own funding streams rather than relying heavily on the NCAA’s statutory allocation.

“The NCAA needs more funding, not less. We are a cost-recovery agency, not a revenue-generating one. Proper funding ensures inspectors remain well-trained and adequately remunerated,” he said.

Achimugu said the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, had intervened to resolve the matter among the affected agencies.

He appealed to stakeholders to allow the minister to handle the issue rather than making statements capable of influencing public opinion.

The NCAA spokesman also dismissed reports that the authority was indebted to NAMA, explaining that statutory deductions and remittances were processed directly by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said the NCAA did not operate a separate account for such remittances, adding that available records showed the processes were ongoing.

“The NCAA does not make remittances directly to the agency. The CBN does so. From our checks, the remittances were being processed. So, the issue of NCAA owing anybody does not arise,” he said. (NAN)

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