The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is facing mounting financial pressure as debts owed by government agencies, airlines, state governments and foreign operators rise to more than N34.69 billion in domestic receivables and US$49.48 million in foreign receivables with the total exposure valued at about N102.52 billion.

NAMA is an agency of the federal government providing aircraft clearance, air traffic control, air navigation and other activities for safe and efficient air navigation services.

Daily Trust reports that there is disquiet in the aviation industry over cash flow issues amidst huge indebtedness.

Recently, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) threatened to withdraw weather services provided to NAMA over its failure to pay accrued charges.

The in-house unions of NiMet had planned a protest on July 1st over the issue of accumulated revenue backlog.

The protest was later called off following the intervention by the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development while a framework on monthly revenue sharing was developed among all agencies under the Ministry.

However, a document seen by our correspondent put the total indebtedness to NAMA at over N100bn.

The disclosure was made by the Joint In-House Unions of NAMA in a letter dated June 29, 2026, to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

According to the document, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) tops the list of domestic debtors with N23.94 billion, followed by NAPIMS (Osubi Airport) with N2.05 billion, Arik Air with N2.27 billion, Aero Contractors with N1.07 billion, Bauchi State Government with N902.87 million, Ogun State Government with N465.15 million, Taraba State Government with N309.35 million, Merry Aviation with N143.38 million, and ExxonMobil with N58.46 million.

The unions said the agency’s cash flow crisis has been worsened by the failure of several debtors to honour their financial obligations.

The unions also disclosed that foreign operators owe the agency more than US$21.84 million (N29.95bn at the current exchange rate of N1,371/$), while NAMA’s total foreign receivables exceed US$49 million (67.83bn).

They noted that despite the financial challenges, NAMA paid approximately N400 million to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) between April and June 2026 toward outstanding obligations.

The payment, they said, demonstrates the agency’s commitment to meeting its statutory responsibilities despite severe liquidity constraints.

The unions also pointed at the withheld NAMA’s statutory share of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sale Charge (TSC/CSC) for the past four months, saying this has deprived the agency of one of its major sources of revenue.

According to the unions, the combined effect of unpaid debts and delayed statutory remittances has made it increasingly difficult for NAMA to finance critical services, including air traffic management, communication, navigation, surveillance, aeronautical information services, search and rescue support, and other air navigation operations across the country’s airspace.

Warning of the consequences of continued inaction, the unions said they may have no option but to direct NAMA workers to embark on an indefinite industrial action if the outstanding debts are not recovered and the withheld TSC revenue is not released.

To avert the looming crisis, the unions urged the Federal Government to direct all verified debtors to immediately settle their obligations, ensure the release of NAMA’s outstanding Ticket Sales Charge revenue, establish a sustainable debt recovery mechanism for aviation agencies and convene an emergency stakeholders’ meeting to resolve all outstanding inter-agency financial obligations.

Speaking with our correspondent, aviation analyst, Group Capt. John Ojikutu, rtd said the huge indebtedness would make it difficult for the agency to guarantee airspace safety and “invariably flight safety.”

He said, “There are air navigational aids that compulsorily need yearly periodic maintenance and there are others especially airfield approach and runway landing aids that must have twice yearly routine maintenance in their periodic maintenance programmes.

“The NCAA Oversight and the enforcement of the periodic maintenance and calibration programmes are necessary at all the servicing airports.”

According to him, there can be no safety in aviation if N712bn (referencing the amount being spent on the new Murtala Muhammed Airport) is spent on a passenger terminal building (Non-Aeronautical Services Facility) while the Radar and the ILS (Aeronautical Services Facilities) of our Airports are not regularly attended to. The TRACON is more than 20 years old without regular period maintenance in over five years. How can NAMA guarantee the Safety and Security of the Airspace? (Daily Trust)

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