Weekend’s reshuffle of top directors within the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) may not be unconnected with the allegations of inefficiency and compromised oversight in the agency’s Directorate of Airworthiness Standards (DAWS).

The reshuffle, which was approved by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, affected critical safety departments within the NCAA.

While the ministry officially described the changes as routine administrative adjustments, industry sources insisted the reshuffle was directly connected to growing concerns over how airworthiness approvals, maintenance oversight and certification processes had been handled in recent years.

DAWS is arguably the most sensitive safety department within the NCAA, but there have been allegations of unprofessional conducts by some in the department.

With the reshuffle, Godwin Balang, formerly Director of Aerodromes and Airspace Standards, has been redeployed to head DAWS, while Alhaji Ahmad Abba, the former Director of Special Duties in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), was redeployed to the Directorate of Aerodromes and Airspace Standards to replace Balang.

Balang formally assumed office at his new department yesterday at the headquarters of the NCAA in Abuja. It was learnt that the move was an intervention measure aimed at tightening control over a department accused by insiders of regulatory laxity and procedural compromise.

The ministry source said: “The airworthiness department is where safety either stands or collapses. When leadership is changed at that level, it is rarely accidental.”

The reshuffle came following allegations by some sources in the sector, accusing senior management staff of the department of approving Aircraft Maintenance Organisations (AMOs) without rigorous audits and certifying aircraft that were allegedly not properly maintained.

According to the documents, standard procedures for foreign and local AMO approvals, such as on-site inspections, facility verification, and personnel competency checks, were either weakened or bypassed, potentially allowing aircraft with questionable maintenance histories to operate in Nigerian airspace. Sources warned that such practices, if left unchecked, could have fatal consequences.

These allegations gained urgency following a series of aircraft incidents investigated by the Nigeria Safety Investigation Board (NSIB).

On December 14, 2025, a Hawker 800XP aircraft, registered as 5N-ISB, crash-landed at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with eight persons on board after experiencing a landing gear anomaly.

Two days later, a Cessna 172 aircraft, registered as 5N-ASR, crashed on approach to the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri. No fatalities were recorded in either incident.

Earlier, there were accidents, including the August 1, 2023 crash of a Jabiru J430 aircraft, registered as 5N-CCQ, which reportedly occurred shortly after the aircraft was issued a Special Certificate of Airworthiness.

This certification was among several approvals issued without exhaustive technical scrutiny, it was learnt. (The Guardian, but headline rejigged)