Society of Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers of Nigeria (SLAMEN), has called on the leadership of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to champion establishment of more Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities and support for existing ones to development while it also suggested areas where the regulatory authority should beam its flood more in the sector.
The body of Licensed Aircraft Engineers gave the urge during a courtesy visit to the Director General of NCAA and the management team at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
The society highlighted that the ongoing billions of naira spent on overseas maintenance deprives the nation of job opportunities, technology transfer, foreign exchange retention, and local capacity growth.
The visit led by SLAMEN President, Engr. Muhammad Mubarak Haladu, allowed the SLAMEN AND NCAA teams to engaged in strategic discussions aimed at advancing aviation safety, upholding professional standards, protecting local content, and encouraging sustainable growth within Nigeria’s aircraft maintenance subsector.
In his statement at the meeting, Engr. Haladu emphasized that SLAMEN, as a recognized professional body remains deeply committed to supporting the regulator through institutional collaboration, intelligence sharing, and technical expertise.
Some of the key issues of reform proposed and presented by SSLAMEN to NCAA include
Development of Indigenous Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities and support for existing ones: SLAMEN urged NCAA to champion a national policy that encourages the establishment of world-class Approved Maintenance Organizations (AMO), Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in Nigeria. The society highlighted that the ongoing billions spent on overseas maintenance deprives the nation of job opportunities, technology transfer, foreign exchange retention, and local capacity growth.
Preservation of the AME License & Qualification Standards: Expressing concern over the perceived dilution of the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) License process, SLAMEN requested a comprehensive review of licensing policies. The society recommended that candidates for the ICAO License Preparatory Course (LPC) and NCAA examinations be restricted to holders of Higher National Diplomas (HND) or Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) degrees in Aircraft Maintenance, Aeronautics, or Aerospace Engineering.
On regulation of Aviation Training Organizations (ATOs): The society urged stricter oversight of ATOs by NCAA through frequent audits, standardized training, and rigorous monitoring of instructors.
Furthermore, SLAMEN called for the immediate suspension or cancellation of the Basic Aircraft Technician Course (BATCO) due to weak entry requirements, advocating that the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria’s ICAO-standard course sserves s the benchmark pathway.
On validations of foreign Licences and expatriate quotas, SLAMEN advocated for tighter controls on foreign license validations and expatriate employment to protect local content. The society emphasized that expatriate engagements must be strictly based on genuine technical needs and tied to mandatory, structured knowledge-transfer programs for Nigerian engineers.
Another suggestion made by the society to the regulatory agency for consideration is fatigue management ànd duty tme limitations. Highlighting the safety risks associated with fatigue and night-shift overuse by certain operators, SLAMEN requested a review of maintenance duty periods in line with global human-factors (“12 Dirty Dozen”) requirements, offering intelligence collaboration to curb personnel exploitation.
On Mandatory TType-Rating and Recurrent Trainings, SLAMEN wants NCAA to address instances where Approved Maintenance Organizations (AMOs) withhold required type-rating or recurrent training, The society requested that these mandatory requirements be formally integrated into the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations via the Regulation Review Board, aligning them with standards applied to Pilots.
SLAMEN proposed the establishment of a formal liaison framework with the NCAA. The society suggested designating a specific office to facilitate regular consultation, information exchange, and joint policy development.
This was immediately approved by the Director General of NCAA with appointment of Engr Edwin Obi as SLAMEN NCAA liaison officer.
In his closing remarks, Engr. Haladu reassured the NCAA leadership that SLAMEN’s recommendations were driven solely by a shared commitment to national security, aviation safety, and positioning Nigeria as a leading aviation hub in Africa. “Our requests today are not driven by personal interests, but by a shared desire to strengthen aviation safety, protect professional standards, develop local capacity, and position Nigeria as a leading aviation hub in Africa,” stated Engr. Haladu.
In his response, the DGCA who addressed treated all the requests one after the other promised a swift action in areas of AMO/ATO audit, personnel licensing review and protection of local content for our domestic Maintenance Engineers.
He said that type rating for engineers appearing in the regulations will be referred to the regulatory review board for necessary action.
Noting that Engineers are the unsung heroes of the industry, he commended and c appreciated all the engineers in the industry for ensuring safety.
