Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu has called on Nigerians to desist from using the recent incidence of the theft of an equipment in the cockpit of an airplane, to destroy the good reputation which the country has been known for in the aviation industry.
Nuhu made the appeal during an interview he granted members of aviation journalists in the Lagos Office Annex of the regulatory agency also spoke on other issues in the industry.
Responding to the question on the theft of an equipment in the cockpit of an aircraft which owned by Arik Air, parked at the apron of Murtala Muhammed Domestic Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Lagos, the Director General who suspected that the incident must have been done by a professional who is an insider said:
“How many aircraft have been vandalised in Nigeria in the past 10 years? Let’s not use a single issue to destroy our country. This is one incident, which seems to have been done by a professional, maybe an insider. Have we had any case of people going to vandalise an aircraft in the last 10 years? This is one case and we should not use it to destroy the reputation of our industry.”
Adding, “It appears this was perpetuated by somebody who knew what he was doing and it was not as if somebody broke in from outside and went and vandalised an aircraft. It wasn’t vandalisation. This is a well clean job by someone who knew where to go and what to remove.”
Meanwhile, the NCAA boss has called on owners of unserviceable aircraft parked at the Lagos airport, to remove them because such aircraft constituted safety and security to the airport.
The Chief executive officer at NCAA who hinted that a move would soon be made to address the issue, recalled that long before the national assembly talked about it, NCAA and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) made several attempts in the past to remove the unserviceable aircraft from the airport environment, but couldn’t do so because of court cases on many of them.
“Even before the National Assembly made a pronouncement on unserviceable aircraft, we have made attempts to remove them, but unfortunately, a lot of them have court cases and there is a kind of restriction on FAAN. So, it is a difficult situation. But we are having a meeting sometime next week to discuss this and see what we can do,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer at NCAA who lamented the implications of keeping unserviceable aircraft in spaces meant for new and serviceable aircraft in an airport, noted that apart from congesting the ramp, it raises issues of safety and growth in the industry.
“There are so many implications for these aircraft; it is congesting the ramp and to me, it has safety implications. It can have security implication and it denies the growth of the industry,” Nuhu said.
