NCAA offers robust rebuttal of Aviation Elders’ claims on air safety

• Says acting DG Najomo won’t be distracted

Sade Williams/Business a.m.

Claims by a group known as Aviation Elders (AE) that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) under Chris Najomo, its director general, has handled safety matters with levity have been robustly rebutted by the Authority.

The allegations are being made amid calls for the confirmation of Najomo as substantive  director general of the NCAA after more than one year in acting capacity.

Aviation Elders had accused Najomo of trivialising the sector by allegedly announcing his own confirmation in a video when the National Assembly had not done so.

But Michael Achimugu, spokesperson for NCAA, in a strong rebuttal of the AE’s claims, countered all the allegations saying the acting DG and staff of the Authority would not be distracted by ‘the antics of a few disgruntled elements whose vitriol can only be considered the last kicks of drowning horses who are angry to see their legacy of incompetence sink into the abyss where it belongs.

He said Najomo is driving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda well, adding that ‘the confirmation of a DGCA rests only with the minister, the president, and the National Assembly.

“The acting DGCA, the management and staff of the NCAA are focused on performing their duties to the industry and Nigeria,” Achimugu said.

“My attention has just been drawn to a lame, desperate and obviously sponsored last-ditch attempt to truncate the confirmation of Capt. Chris Najomo as substantive DG, NCAA. The report attempts to ridicule the person, character, and competence of Capt. Chris Najomo, an industry icon who has put in over four decades of premium service to the industry as one of Nigeria’s best pilots. Capt. Najomo has served meritoriously as Ag. DGCA since December 2023. Under his leadership, the NCAA has attained glorious heights hitherto thought impossible. But he has had to endure a turbulent first year in office as shady characters fighting to retain control of the corruption that once pervaded the Authority, have deployed all manners of subterfuge to have Najomo removed at all cost,” he added.

While debunking the claim that Najomo declared himself as DG-NCAA in a very boastful manner without presidential pronouncement and Senate confirmation,  Achimugu said the allegation is based on a video where Najomo introduced himself in a meeting with the following words, “My name is Capt. Chris Najomo, Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

“There is nothing in the video that mentions his confirmation or otherwise. The DGCA is called Jolly Papa for a reason. He is very charismatic and ebullient. He has always introduced himself the same way in internal meetings. As usual, I will challenge these faceless “elders” to provide evidence of Najomo pronouncing himself as substantive DG NCAA. The NCAA official social media handles have said nothing about the topic of the DGCA’s status. Not even the spokesman of the Authority has spoken to the media about it,” he added.

On allegations that Najomo does not care about safety, Achimugu recalled the just completed NCAA’s Flight Data Centre – commissioned by the minister of aviation and aerospace development as a testament to commitment to safety.

“For all of the talk about safety, not a single commercial plane has crashed under Najomo’s leadership. In fact, it was Najomo who suspended Dana Air for poor financial health which was impeding its ability to operate safely. That’s a man who cares about the safety of passengers. As for the unfortunate helicopter crash, we will not preempt the NSIB. When their report is released, we will be able to make comments.

“Runway excursions happen globally, and are not a sign of incompetence of any CAA. Nigeria is not in the top fifteen nations when it comes to air mishaps. These so-called elders did not blame the American FAA for the helicopter crash that killed Nigeria’s Hebert Wigwe. They did not blame the FAA for the chopper crash that killed famous basketball star, Kobe Bryant. They didn’t even blame Canadian Authorities when, on December 29, 2024, an Air Canada Flight AC2259 suffered suspected landing gear issues, or the Korean Authorities for the fatal crash of Jeju Air’s flight 2216 after a bird strike, a crash that killed almost 200 people. They only blame the NCAA when it serves their sinister purposes.

The NCAA spokesman described claims that the NCAA has a target of 224 days for resolving customer complaints as lies from the pit of hades.

He added that the longest timeframe for refund of ticket purchases is fourteen days as captured in Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.

“Under Najomo’s leadership, the Consumer Protection Department of the NCAA has achieved the highest volume of passenger refunds and compensations in its entire history. It also had the highest number of stakeholder engagements in the history of the Authority. Capt. Najomo launched a first-of-its-kind consumer complaints portal for seamless resolution of cases, and to ensure accurate collation, storage, and dissemination of data.  Why did they not achieve these milestones during their time in charge of the Authority? You cannot resolve 2025 problems with a 1980 mentality. Najomo is too digital for their analogue settings. It is a fact that, what people can’t achieve, they detest,” Achimugu said.

Among other major achievements, Najomo, he said, has ensured that the process of licensing operators is seamless, adding that processes that used to last an eternity under the elders now take 2-3 months to complete.

Achimugu recalled that the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON,) had affirmed that the Authority had fulfilled all of its obligations to the industry.

“How come the elders who pretend to love the industry were the same ones who held onto staff entitlements for years, causing great suffering to thousands of families? What manner of expertise allows you to owe workers for years? It can only be puff-puff expertise,” he said.

According to the statement, since Najomo came on board, he has cleared the backlog of allowances owed to the staff, noting that this has created a better working environment and more productive workforce. “The man knows how to administer and motivate,” Achimugu added.