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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Nigeria's aviation agencies clash over proposed revenue sharing formula

From ThisDay · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Nigeria's aviation agencies, NCAA and NAMA, are in conflict over a proposed revenue-sharing formula for ticket and cargo sales charges.
  • A National Assembly bill seeks to reduce the NCAA's share from 56% to 40% and increase NAMA's from 22% to 40%.
  • NCAA warns that a reduced share will negatively impact its operations and compromise aviation safety.

Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) are locked in a dispute over how to share billions of naira collected annually from ticket and cargo sales charges. The conflict stems from a proposed bill before the National Assembly that aims to significantly alter the existing revenue-sharing formula.

Under the current system, the NCAA receives 56% of the 5% charge on every ticket sold by domestic airlines, while NAMA gets 22%. Other agencies like the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) receive smaller portions. The proposed bill, however, seeks to reduce the NCAA's allocation to 40% and boost NAMA's to the same percentage.

The NCAA even requires more money.

— Michael AchimuguDirector of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, emphasizing the agency's need for funding.

The NCAA has voiced strong opposition, warning that a reduction in its statutory revenue would severely hamper its operations and ability to conduct effective regulatory oversight. Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, stated that such a move could weaken the authority's financial position and jeopardize aviation safety. "The NCAA even requires more money," Achimugu said, emphasizing the agency's crucial role in maintaining safety standards.

Achimugu credited the NCAA's stringent regulatory oversight for Nigeria's strong performance in international aviation safety and security audits. He argued that the agency's inspectors must possess superior technical knowledge to effectively enforce safety standards, which requires adequate funding. He cautioned that any reduction in the NCAA's cost recovery would be an unnecessary move, especially considering the federal government's existing deductions from the agency's revenue.

The staff of the regulatory agency must be better trained than the service providers they regulate. If inspectors do not possess superior technical knowledge, they cannot effectively enforce safety standards.

— Michael AchimuguMichael Achimugu explaining the importance of well-trained staff for effective safety enforcement in the aviation sector.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ThisDay in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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