The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has argued that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) already has 16 statutory revenue streams, making its request for a larger share of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) difficult to justify under international funding principles.
Presenting the Authority’s position before the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Director General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, said the issue before lawmakers was not whether NAMA deserved adequate funding but whether Nigeria should weaken its aviation regulator by reallocating its principal statutory source of income. He maintained that while NAMA already earns most of its income from commercial operations, NCAA depends heavily on the TSC to perform its sovereign safety oversight role.
Najomo said the Authority fully recognised NAMA’s critical contribution to aviation safety but insisted that both agencies perform different statutory functions and should therefore be funded differently.
“This presentation is, therefore, not about whether NAMA deserves adequate funding, as it certainly does,” he said. “Rather, it is about ensuring that the funding of Nigeria’s aviation institutions remains consistent with international standards and does not weaken the Authority responsible for regulating the entire aviation industry.”
75% Commercial Revenue Undercuts NAMA’s TSC Bid
He told lawmakers that NAMA already enjoys extensive revenue streams created by law in addition to Federal Government infrastructure support through Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) funds.
“Honourable Members, it is also important to recognise that, in addition to Federal Government funding NAMA gets for its infrastructure through BASA funds, NAMA already possesses no less than sixteen commercial revenue streams established by law,” Najomo said.
NAMA’s Revenue Streams
According to him, the Agency generates income from international over-flight and en-route charges, domestic en-route charges, terminal navigation services, calibration fees, obstacle evaluation fees, telecommunications services, consultancy, cartographic surveys, aerial operations, property rentals, airspace violation fines and air traffic services provided at private and state aerodromes.
Najomo argued that these revenue streams are exactly the commercial funding mechanisms prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for Air Navigation Service Providers.
He said ICAO’s funding philosophy expects agencies like NAMA to progressively finance their operations through charges imposed on the users of the services they provide rather than relying primarily on statutory deductions from passenger ticket sales.
“Available financial information further indicates that these commercial and operational activities account for approximately 75 per cent of NAMA’s total revenue, while the contentious five per cent TSC makes up only about 25 per cent,” he said.
According to Najomo, the figures demonstrate that NAMA’s commercial revenue streams already constitute the backbone of its finances.
He argued that this also showed why increasing NAMA’s allocation from the TSC would not resolve the Agency’s wider funding concerns.
“So even if, hypothetically speaking, NAMA is allocated the whole 100 per cent of the five per cent TSC, which of course would spell the end of the NCAA, it would still not cater for the financial demands NAMA is calling for,” he stated.
Najomo contrasted NAMA’s income profile with that of NCAA, saying the regulator relies overwhelmingly on the TSC to carry out its statutory responsibilities.
“In stark contrast for NCAA, the five per cent TSC is the lifeline of NCAA representing approximately 83 per cent of its funds, with all other fees NCAA charges service providers accounting for the remaining 17 per cent,” he said.
He warned that reducing NCAA’s statutory allocation would have a significantly greater impact on the regulator than on NAMA because the Authority has far fewer alternative revenue streams.
“It is clear that a further reduction in the NCAA’s statutory allocation would therefore have a disproportionately greater impact on the financial sustainability of Nigeria’s Safety Oversight Authority than on the operational funding of NAMA,” Najomo added.
The Director General further argued that ICAO clearly distinguishes between the funding philosophy for aviation regulators and operational service providers.
“Whereas Civil Aviation Authorities require sustainable funding to discharge sovereign regulatory responsibilities, Air Navigation Service Providers are expected to progressively attain financial sustainability through charges levied on the users of the services they provide,” he said.
Najomo also challenged the proposal that NAMA should receive a larger share of the TSC because passengers are not the direct users of its services.
“NAMA, therefore, should not be collecting any share of the TSC because TSC comes from passengers,” he said. “The users of NAMA’s services are not the passengers but, rather, the aircraft operators.”
Meanwhile, he reminded lawmakers that ICAO’s recent Coordinated Validation Mission had identified inadequate funding of Nigeria’s safety oversight authority as an area requiring urgent improvement.
Although Nigeria achieved an Effective Implementation score of 91.3 per cent overall, he noted that the country scored only 50 per cent in financial resources supporting the State Safety Oversight System.
“It is therefore respectfully submitted that reducing the Authority’s principal statutory source of funding at this time would amount to legislating against the very deficiency that ICAO has identified for corrective action,” he said.
Najomo urged the Committee to be guided by ICAO documents governing aviation financing, including Docs 9082, 9161, 9734 and the 2026-2028 Global Aviation Safety Plan, which distinguish the funding models for regulators and Air Navigation Service Providers.
As a way forward, he said any additional support for NAMA should come through optimisation of its existing revenue streams, improved operational efficiency and targeted government intervention for strategic infrastructure rather than reducing NCAA’s statutory allocation.
“The Authority is not before this distinguished Committee to oppose the strengthening of any aviation agency,” Najomo said. “Indeed, if additional financial support is required for NAMA, such support should first be pursued through the optimisation of its extensive statutory commercial revenue streams, improved operational efficiency and corporate governance and, where necessary, targeted Government support for strategic capital infrastructure, consistent with ICAO policy and international best practice.”
