The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified the misinformation on the Security, Facilitation and Safety Audit slated for the first quarter of 2022.
The Director General, NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, made the clarification with newsmen in Lagos on Monday.
Nuhu explained that the forthcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) was not the same as Annexes 9 and 17 of the international body,
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ICAO Annex 9 is on facilitation while Annex 17 contains Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
The Director General noted that the Annex 17 was concerned with the security of international air transport and is amended regularly to address the evolving threat.
Nuhu insisted that the safety audit had nothing to do with either facilitation or security audits, but admitted that some teething challenges needed to be addressed in the country’s aviation industry.
He explained that security had its own separate audit, stressing that Nigeria performed well in the last security audit conducted in the sector by ICAO.
Nuhu recalled that in the last ICAO Security Audit (USOAP-CMA) of Nigeria – the Effective Implementation (EI), Nigeria Scored 96.4 per cent and the country received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance.
The director general stressed that NCAA’s aspirational Effective Implementation (EI) score for the USOAP-CMA Audit was 90 per cent, insisting that all hands are on deck to ensure this becomes a reality.
He said: ‘NCAA will step up its oversight function and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders to ensure continued improvement in aviation security and facilitation.
“Security Audit is different from safety audit. What we are doing now is quite different from security audit and it’s not related to facilitation. I understand facilitation is good for passengers, but, it has nothing to do with the current audit.
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“The last security audit we had, Nigeria scored 96.4 per cent and because of this performance, Nigeria received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance.
“Yes, I accept we have some challenges in the industry, just like in the other countries around the world. However, to say Nigeria is not ready for audit is a misnomer.
“Someone is saying we are not ready for two issues that are not part of the forthcoming audit. I think that is wrong.”
NAN recalls that Nuhu had declared last week at the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) annual training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria that the country was fully prepared for the audit.
The director general said NCAA was on top of its game to ensure a successful outing for Nigeria in the ICAO audit.
(NAN)
