Reps Plan to Investigate Activities of NCAA, NAMA, FAAN

 The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Aviation to carry out investigation into the activities of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). The Reps want to know the extent to which the three organisations complied with the responsibilities assigned to them, which is to ensure the airworthiness of aircraft operating within the country’s airspace. The House also asked NAMA to always prepare a regular update of weather conditions for every departure of airlines and that NAMA should always ensure airline operators did not schedule flights when the weather was unsafe. The resolution was moved by a motion by Rep Sergius Ogun (Edo-PDP) which was unanimously adopted by members through a voice vote. Ogun while moving the motion reiterated that with the regulatory agencies and the responsibilities assigned to them, the frequency of air crashes in the country should make people question the expertise and competence of these regulatory agencies. The lawmaker said “Laws such as the Montreal Convention of 1999, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act 2006 and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation 2012 make ample provisions to compensate victims of air crashes for loss of lives and injuries, but such provisions are incapable of replacing the lost lives.“If thorough investigation of the activities of airline operators is carried out to ascertain the airworthiness of aircraft operating in the country, it will help in no small measure to minimise the frequency of air crashes in the country.”