Hadi Sirika, minister of state, aviation, has called on International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and member states to continue to put in place proactive measures to curb ever-increasing threat to security of civil aviation.
Sirika made this call at the weekend during the 39th ICAO general assembly at ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
This call is coming at a time global terrorist attacks in airports across the world are on the rise, and experts in various countries are seeking for coordinated intelligence gathering and sharing of security information among stakeholders.
Nigeria continues to participate in the ICAO’s PKD and support ICAO’s effort to provide assistance to other West African states in their resolve to introduce e-passport, the minister said.
He explained that stakeholders were at the meeting to seek new strategies that would make air transportation safe, secure, efficient and above all environmentally friendly, so as to ensure the growth and sustainability of the aviation industry globally.
“We are also in consultation with the United Nation to establish aviation security training schools in Nigeria, and these schools will serve not only Nigeria but also the entire sub-region. Nigeria reaffirms its believe that ICAO should be the forum through which all aviation technical issues relating to environment must be resolved.
“I therefore express the full support of Nigeria for the efforts being made by ICAO to minimise the impact of aircraft engine emissions on our environment as well as the work of the council committee on aviation environmental protection,” he said.
The minster therefore called on member states, especially the developed countries, financial institutions and donor agencies to support this initiative with a view to assisting this to implement ICAO’s Standard and Recommended Practises.
He mentioned that Nigeria, even prior to the initiative, had been collaborating with ICAO and African Civil Aviation Commission, AFCAC to promote safety in the West Africa sub-region through the hosting and subvention funding of Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO), the aviation safety organisation.
Nigeria will continue to champion the advancement of civil aviation in the sub-region through the continuous hosting and sponsorship of ICAO’s safety, security, air transport and environmental programmes including comprehensive regional implementation plan of aviation safety in Africa, he assured.
“Within the last two years, we have made major strides to promote safety in our airspace. This was confirmed with the success recorded by Nigeria in the ICAO audit.
“We have also successfully retained FAA category One rating. Presently, we are reviewing the primary aviation legislation, Civil Aviation Act 2006 to ensure that Nigeria civil aviation authority continues to exercise requisite power and full autonomy to regulate aviation safety without political interference,” the minister said.
