AVIATION UNIONS SPEAK ON PLANNED MERGER OF AGENCIES
The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) wish to use this opportunity to reject the proposed merger by the Federal Government of three parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Aviation namely, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The Unions are shocked by the announced merger which is coming at a time when Nigeria as a signatory to the convention on International Civil Aviation has in the past fourteen (14) years made significant progress in institutionalizing and nurturing the Nigerian civil aviation authority into a sound civil aviation regulatory institution that is now a reference model of a CAA in the west African sub-region and in Africa.
We view the decision of the government to merge the NCAA - a regulatory entity with NAMA and NIMET both service providers within the aviation industry as ill-timed, ill-conceived and inimical to the sustenance of the feat Nigeria has attained in the area of international certification by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States of America (FAA CAT 1).
While the Unions recognize the prerogative of the Federal Government to restructure and consolidate its parastatals for whatever reasons, we are of the opinion that the government should have consulted widely on the issue and its consequences on the industry before taking the decision. We say boldly that whatever savings the federal government intends to achieve through this merger will definitely compromise safety which we all know is priceless. You cannot quantify the cost of safety and efficiency neither can we mortgage safety on the platter of reducing cost.
We wish to remind the Federal government about Nigeria’s obligations under the Chicago convention of 1944 and the consequential commitment to subject its civil aviation activities to regular, routine and scheduled oversight/inspection by the International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO) which is charged with the responsibility of setting standards for civil aviation and over sighting same globally through its universal safety audit oversight program. May we state here that Nigeria has and maintains similar commitment with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) pursuant to its being a signatory to the World Maritime conventions.
Specifically we invite the Federal government to note that ICAO through its mandatory Audit program checklist has a protocol (USOAP CMA Protocol Question org. 2. 023) that relates to the issue of conflict of interests within the civil aviation regulatory system which frowns at civil aviation regulatory authorities being service providers. In fact this subject was extensively discussed at the 38th session of the ICAO Assembly in Montreal and a resolution was passed with a directive to member states to endeavor through national legislation to separate civil aviation regulatory responsibilities from those of service providers. The resolution became necessary because ICAO recognizes that a potential conflict of interest exist where a single entity performs both functions. It is obvious here that the regulator cannot regulate itself because there will definitely be conflict of interests. It would suffice to state here that the FAA CAT1 protocol questionnaire which is largely modeled after that of ICAO, contains a verbatim provision on conflict of interest. Why then would the Nigerian government make such a pronouncement having being part of the 38th ICAO assembly that took the referenced resolution? Out of the 197 contracting states, over 100 have CAA’s that are independent of other Service Providers. Other non compliant states are transiting into the ICAO recommended model. Even Ghana was in Nigeria to do a study to implement same in their country.
The Unions invite the Federal government to also note that what it seeks to do by the proposed merger is a situation that existed over 20 years ago in the days of the defunct FCAA, when the FCAA as it then was, carried out both regulatory and service provider functions . That system was found to be unprogressive, dysfunctional and unable to project adequately the safety oversight responsibility of the then FCAA and Consequently, the Federal government scraped the FCAA in 1996 and transferred its safety and economic regulatory functions to two departments in the Federal Ministry of Aviation namely, Directorate of Economic Regulation and Monitoring (DERAM) and Directorate of Safety Regulation and Monitoring (DSRAM). After wide consultations both at home and abroad with stakeholders on the way forward with regards to its safety oversight obligation under the Chicago convention, the Federal Government saw the need to conform with the prescriptions of ICAO on the structure of a state regulatory system (ICAO doc. 8335 Chapter 3) and global best practices by establishing NCAA in 1999 as a distinct regulatory authority separate from the service providers to wit; NAMA, FAAN and NIMET.
Gentlemen of the press, you can now see for yourself our reforms journey and where this recent pronouncement is taking us to.
Further to the above, the unions wonder why such a draw-back decision would be taken by the Federal Government when the government is fully aware that Nigeria overwhelmingly enjoyed the support of the world during the last ICAO council elections that produced Dr. O. B. Aliu, a Nigerian and the first black man as president of the council of ICAO. Should we continue to move backward when every other country is moving forward?
The unions wish to remind the Federal government that Dr. Aliu is occupying that office for two main reasons. The first being that he merits it because of his outstanding contribution to the successes and accomplishments of ICAO under the tenure of the out gone president of the ICAO council Mr. Roberto Kobe Gonzales, who personally endorsed Dr. Aliu’s candidacy and worked hard to ensure his success during the election. And secondly because Nigeria as a member state had won the confidence of ICAO and other member states through its institutionalization of civil aviation support structures and progressive compliance with standards and recommended practices of ICAO over the years.
We are privy to the information that the current Nigerian model and structure of civil aviation which separated regulatory oversight functions from accident investigation and the provision of civil aviation services functions is being recommended by ICAO and the USA FAA to several African states. We strongly support the current model that makes for the autonomy and independence of the NCAA and feels it should not in any way be diluted, as doing so would attract dire consequences from ICAO and the FAA.
Why are we reinventing the wheel when the current model is acceptable worldwide is working perfectly well?
May we state further that as a fallout of the ICAO Audit of Nigeria in 2006 and the findings of the FAA within the same period, which raised certain concerns about the autonomy of the NCAA with respect to its powers to promulgate and implement safety regulations effectively, the late president Umaru Yar’adua, signed and transmitted to the United State FAA through the office of the then President of the United States (George W. Bush), an undertaking that the NCAA is autonomous and will remain so. The said letter also assured the FAA that Nigeria had commenced the review of all civil aviation laws to eliminate all aspects of the laws that conflict with the autonomy and powers of the NCAA. As at the time of this press release, the draft amendments to the establishments’ acts of all the aviation parastatals are being finalized to be forwarded to the National Assembly in line with the referenced undertaking.
The unions believe that rather than merge the NCAA with NAMA and NIMET, the NCAA should be repositioned and given the support (free of all political interferences) by the Federal Government to achieve its mandate of making civil aviation safer in Nigeria. In the same vein, we also believe that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) should be strengthened to continue to render effective air navigation services and accurate weather forecast respectively for the safe take-off and landing of aircraft in Nigeria.
We have yet not seen any sound reason being canvassed for the merger of even NAMA with NIMET because; aside civil aviation, NIMET provides services to the maritime sector, agricultural sector, mining and construction sectors, which are outside the province of civil aviation. For the records, NIMET is regulated by International Maritime Organization (IMO). It would appear that the government merely swallowed the Orosanye Report without doing any technical review to ascertain the appropriateness or otherwise of the recommendation relating to the referenced merger. Above all, in this age of specialization, this kind of merger will not make for efficient and effective service delivery.
Finally, we wish to remind the Federal Government that before the creation of NIMASA out of the NPA, both regulatory and port services functions were carried out by the NPA. However, in line with the standards and recommendation of the International Maritime Organization to member states, to separate maritime regulatory functions from maritime services provider functions, the government established NIMASA out of the NPA, as a separate entity to regulate the maritime sector in Nigeria. This is the current world order as regards regulatory systems, be it in the telecommunication sector (NCC), health sector (NAFDAC), power sector (NERC) or the banking sector (CBN). The case of civil aviation regulatory system should not be different in light of the above reasons.
The unions therefore would like to use this medium to appeal to the President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) in the interest of the safety, Nigeria’s commitment under the Chicago Convention and related protocols, Nigeria’s presidency of the ICAO council and above all in the interest of the undertaking Nigeria made to the FAA on the independence and autonomy of the NCAA, to reconsider the merger pronouncement. The unions are convinced that his Excellency was not properly briefed on the issues raised in this write up before approving the proposed merger. In light of the above, it will be most honorable for the president to direct a reversal of the merger. We hereby pledge our continuous unalloyed support to the Federal government of Nigeria.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Signed
Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria – ATSSSAN.
National Union of Air Transport Employees – NUATE
National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers - NAAPE
The Unions are shocked by the announced merger which is coming at a time when Nigeria as a signatory to the convention on International Civil Aviation has in the past fourteen (14) years made significant progress in institutionalizing and nurturing the Nigerian civil aviation authority into a sound civil aviation regulatory institution that is now a reference model of a CAA in the west African sub-region and in Africa.
We view the decision of the government to merge the NCAA - a regulatory entity with NAMA and NIMET both service providers within the aviation industry as ill-timed, ill-conceived and inimical to the sustenance of the feat Nigeria has attained in the area of international certification by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States of America (FAA CAT 1).
While the Unions recognize the prerogative of the Federal Government to restructure and consolidate its parastatals for whatever reasons, we are of the opinion that the government should have consulted widely on the issue and its consequences on the industry before taking the decision. We say boldly that whatever savings the federal government intends to achieve through this merger will definitely compromise safety which we all know is priceless. You cannot quantify the cost of safety and efficiency neither can we mortgage safety on the platter of reducing cost.
We wish to remind the Federal government about Nigeria’s obligations under the Chicago convention of 1944 and the consequential commitment to subject its civil aviation activities to regular, routine and scheduled oversight/inspection by the International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO) which is charged with the responsibility of setting standards for civil aviation and over sighting same globally through its universal safety audit oversight program. May we state here that Nigeria has and maintains similar commitment with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) pursuant to its being a signatory to the World Maritime conventions.
Specifically we invite the Federal government to note that ICAO through its mandatory Audit program checklist has a protocol (USOAP CMA Protocol Question org. 2. 023) that relates to the issue of conflict of interests within the civil aviation regulatory system which frowns at civil aviation regulatory authorities being service providers. In fact this subject was extensively discussed at the 38th session of the ICAO Assembly in Montreal and a resolution was passed with a directive to member states to endeavor through national legislation to separate civil aviation regulatory responsibilities from those of service providers. The resolution became necessary because ICAO recognizes that a potential conflict of interest exist where a single entity performs both functions. It is obvious here that the regulator cannot regulate itself because there will definitely be conflict of interests. It would suffice to state here that the FAA CAT1 protocol questionnaire which is largely modeled after that of ICAO, contains a verbatim provision on conflict of interest. Why then would the Nigerian government make such a pronouncement having being part of the 38th ICAO assembly that took the referenced resolution? Out of the 197 contracting states, over 100 have CAA’s that are independent of other Service Providers. Other non compliant states are transiting into the ICAO recommended model. Even Ghana was in Nigeria to do a study to implement same in their country.
The Unions invite the Federal government to also note that what it seeks to do by the proposed merger is a situation that existed over 20 years ago in the days of the defunct FCAA, when the FCAA as it then was, carried out both regulatory and service provider functions . That system was found to be unprogressive, dysfunctional and unable to project adequately the safety oversight responsibility of the then FCAA and Consequently, the Federal government scraped the FCAA in 1996 and transferred its safety and economic regulatory functions to two departments in the Federal Ministry of Aviation namely, Directorate of Economic Regulation and Monitoring (DERAM) and Directorate of Safety Regulation and Monitoring (DSRAM). After wide consultations both at home and abroad with stakeholders on the way forward with regards to its safety oversight obligation under the Chicago convention, the Federal Government saw the need to conform with the prescriptions of ICAO on the structure of a state regulatory system (ICAO doc. 8335 Chapter 3) and global best practices by establishing NCAA in 1999 as a distinct regulatory authority separate from the service providers to wit; NAMA, FAAN and NIMET.
Gentlemen of the press, you can now see for yourself our reforms journey and where this recent pronouncement is taking us to.
Further to the above, the unions wonder why such a draw-back decision would be taken by the Federal Government when the government is fully aware that Nigeria overwhelmingly enjoyed the support of the world during the last ICAO council elections that produced Dr. O. B. Aliu, a Nigerian and the first black man as president of the council of ICAO. Should we continue to move backward when every other country is moving forward?
The unions wish to remind the Federal government that Dr. Aliu is occupying that office for two main reasons. The first being that he merits it because of his outstanding contribution to the successes and accomplishments of ICAO under the tenure of the out gone president of the ICAO council Mr. Roberto Kobe Gonzales, who personally endorsed Dr. Aliu’s candidacy and worked hard to ensure his success during the election. And secondly because Nigeria as a member state had won the confidence of ICAO and other member states through its institutionalization of civil aviation support structures and progressive compliance with standards and recommended practices of ICAO over the years.
We are privy to the information that the current Nigerian model and structure of civil aviation which separated regulatory oversight functions from accident investigation and the provision of civil aviation services functions is being recommended by ICAO and the USA FAA to several African states. We strongly support the current model that makes for the autonomy and independence of the NCAA and feels it should not in any way be diluted, as doing so would attract dire consequences from ICAO and the FAA.
Why are we reinventing the wheel when the current model is acceptable worldwide is working perfectly well?
May we state further that as a fallout of the ICAO Audit of Nigeria in 2006 and the findings of the FAA within the same period, which raised certain concerns about the autonomy of the NCAA with respect to its powers to promulgate and implement safety regulations effectively, the late president Umaru Yar’adua, signed and transmitted to the United State FAA through the office of the then President of the United States (George W. Bush), an undertaking that the NCAA is autonomous and will remain so. The said letter also assured the FAA that Nigeria had commenced the review of all civil aviation laws to eliminate all aspects of the laws that conflict with the autonomy and powers of the NCAA. As at the time of this press release, the draft amendments to the establishments’ acts of all the aviation parastatals are being finalized to be forwarded to the National Assembly in line with the referenced undertaking.
The unions believe that rather than merge the NCAA with NAMA and NIMET, the NCAA should be repositioned and given the support (free of all political interferences) by the Federal Government to achieve its mandate of making civil aviation safer in Nigeria. In the same vein, we also believe that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) should be strengthened to continue to render effective air navigation services and accurate weather forecast respectively for the safe take-off and landing of aircraft in Nigeria.
We have yet not seen any sound reason being canvassed for the merger of even NAMA with NIMET because; aside civil aviation, NIMET provides services to the maritime sector, agricultural sector, mining and construction sectors, which are outside the province of civil aviation. For the records, NIMET is regulated by International Maritime Organization (IMO). It would appear that the government merely swallowed the Orosanye Report without doing any technical review to ascertain the appropriateness or otherwise of the recommendation relating to the referenced merger. Above all, in this age of specialization, this kind of merger will not make for efficient and effective service delivery.
Finally, we wish to remind the Federal Government that before the creation of NIMASA out of the NPA, both regulatory and port services functions were carried out by the NPA. However, in line with the standards and recommendation of the International Maritime Organization to member states, to separate maritime regulatory functions from maritime services provider functions, the government established NIMASA out of the NPA, as a separate entity to regulate the maritime sector in Nigeria. This is the current world order as regards regulatory systems, be it in the telecommunication sector (NCC), health sector (NAFDAC), power sector (NERC) or the banking sector (CBN). The case of civil aviation regulatory system should not be different in light of the above reasons.
The unions therefore would like to use this medium to appeal to the President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) in the interest of the safety, Nigeria’s commitment under the Chicago Convention and related protocols, Nigeria’s presidency of the ICAO council and above all in the interest of the undertaking Nigeria made to the FAA on the independence and autonomy of the NCAA, to reconsider the merger pronouncement. The unions are convinced that his Excellency was not properly briefed on the issues raised in this write up before approving the proposed merger. In light of the above, it will be most honorable for the president to direct a reversal of the merger. We hereby pledge our continuous unalloyed support to the Federal government of Nigeria.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Signed
Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria – ATSSSAN.
National Union of Air Transport Employees – NUATE
National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers - NAAPE
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