NAMA Begins Comprehensive Audit of Nigeria’s Airspace

•As NEFGAD faults NCAA’s ‘flight mode ban’, petitions NOTAP over Nigeria’s aircraft tech status

Chinedu Eze in Lagos and Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has announced commencement of comprehensive audit of the entire Flight Information Region (FIR), also known as the Nigerian airspace.

The NAMA said, in a statement, that the exercise, which commenced on August 19, was a systematic self-assessment audit by the agency, targeted at examining the overall safety performance, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance with the Nigerian airspace.

In a related development, Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a civil society organisation, faulted Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over its decision to ban the use of mobile phones in “airplane mode” during flight operations, describing the directive as a source of serious international embarrassment to Nigeria.

Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, at a stakeholders’ meeting, themed, “National Civil Aviation Security Committee Meeting,” in Abuja on Tuesday, had declared that all passengers must now completely switch off their electronic devices during flights, thereby ending the long-standing “flight mode” practice.
NAMA said the airspace assessment will also strengthen its readiness for the impending Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) Certification by NCAA, and the forthcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM), and Regional Office Safety Team (ROST) Mission.

The agency stated, “The FIR Audit also seeks to evaluate the state of Air Traffic Services (ATS), Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) facilities, Aeronautical Information Management (AIM), Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS) and Search and Rescue (SAR) operations as well as identify gaps, risks, and opportunities for improvement in accordance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs).
“The audit will cover detailed inspections of Nigeria’s four major international airports — Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt — along with Enugu, Maiduguri, and several state and private aerodromes, including CNS facilities across the nation.”

Speaking on the significance of the exercise, Managing Director of NAMA, Farouk Umar, described the FIR audit as a defining milestone in the agency’s journey towards excellence in airspace management.

Umar stated, “This audit is a landmark initiative, the first of its kind in NAMA’s 25-year history and it marks a bold and proactive step by the agency to reinforce its mandate of delivering safe, efficient, and seamless air navigation services in full alignment with international best practices.

“The conduct of this comprehensive and multi-dimensional FIR audit is a landmark initiative that will not only reflect on past achievements but also strategically chart the course for the future of Nigeria’s airspace management under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“This audit is more than a compliance check. It is a declaration of our resolve to constantly improve, to measure ourselves against the highest global standards, and to guarantee that every flight in Nigeria’s airspace is managed with the utmost safety and efficiency. It is about building systems that are robust, resilient, and respected globally.”

The NAMA boss stated that the exercise would provide an invaluable opportunity to foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement within the agency, while also reinforcing Nigeria’s preparedness for international scrutiny, certification, and cooperation.

He charged all directors, departmental heads, staff, and industry stakeholders to give their fullest cooperation and support to the audit committee.
Umar stressed, “The safety and efficiency of our airspace is non-negotiable. The successful outcome of this initiative will not only strengthen NAMA’s operational systems but also consolidate Nigeria’s credibility and leadership in the global aviation community.

“This exercise reflects NAMA’s determination to lead by example in Africa and to showcase Nigeria’s aviation system as a benchmark of operational excellence and innovation.”

Umar had inaugurated the FIR Audit Committee, headed by Director of Special Duties, Ahmad Abba. Members of the committee, drawn from air traffic services, CNS/ATM systems, Aeronautical Information Management (AIM), safety management, and search and rescue departments, will liaise with industry stakeholders, regulatory authorities, and frontline operational staff to ensure a rigorous, transparent, and inclusive process.

Meanwhile, in its reaction to the “flight mode” ban, NEFGAD warned the aviation agency against taking Nigeria back to the early days of flight development, describing the directive as “a bid to cover up its regulatory backwardness and organisational ineptitude, which have created multiple embarrassments for the country in recent times”.

NEFGAD’s position was contained in a statement signed by its Country Head of Office, Mr. Akingunola Omoniyi, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

NEFGAD also petitioned the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) to verify the technology status of Nigerian airlines, arguing that the NCAA’s position smacks of incompetence and inefficiency, capable of sending dangerous signals to the international community about the state of Nigeria’s airspace.

NOTAP is an agency established to facilitate the growth of a strong Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) system in Nigeria and is equally saddled with the responsibility of tracking the inflow of foreign technology into the country.

“The NCAA’s recent directive mandating all air passengers to completely switch off their mobile phones during flight take-off and landing is outdated and out of fashion,” Omoniyi stated.

NEFGAD argued that the aviation sector had advanced far beyond NCAA’s current operational scope. It maintained that while modern aircraft today provided free Wi-Fi services for passengers throughout flight operations, Nigerian authorities were still attempting to enforce obsolete practices.

The group added that modern airplanes were built to resist any interference from personal devices or electronic gadgets.

Omoniyi said, “The NCAA seems to have forgotten that the aviation sector has advanced far beyond its current operational scope. Modern aircraft in today’s world, including Emirates, Lufthansa, Air France, Delta, British Airways, and Qatar Airways, all offer free Wi-Fi services for passengers in the air and during all stages of flight operations.”

The organisation expressed concern that NCAA had consistently failed to address real issues or make tangible regulatory reforms, despite lessons from recent airport incidents involving Fuji musician Kwam 1 and Ms. Comfort Emmanson, particularly in the areas of aircraft technology standards, passenger code of conduct, consumer protection guidelines, and aviation security management, among others.

He explained, “The NCAA directive has clearly shown the outside world that Nigeria’s airspace is dominated by obsolete planes manufactured before the year 2000 – aircraft over 25 years old. It is doubtful if any serious-minded investor will risk his life flying in a country whose airspace is largely dominated by such outdated aircraft.

“As a regulator, if your flight operations cannot provide basic international standards of in-flight internet connectivity 25 years after the advent of Wi-Fi/internet-enabled aircraft for the use of in-flight passengers, then the regulator itself should bear the blame, not the passengers.”

NEFGAD also lamented that Nigerians paid some of the most expensive airfares for both local and international travels, saying the country cannot continue to be a dumpsite for outdated airplanes that fail to provide passengers with comfort and advanced in-flight experiences.

The organisation stated, “This is not the era of regulatory grandstanding, but technological innovation and competitiveness. NCAA has no excuse other than to wake up from its regulatory trance and bring real innovation to our airspace by benchmarking Nigerian airlines’ technology against ICAO-compliant international standards, and make Nigerians more comfortable with full in-flight experiences as obtainable anywhere else in the world.”