Senate flays, indicts NAMA, NCAA over poor, expensive navaid, oversight

SENATE Committee on Aviation has berated the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) over what it describes as poor navigational and communication aids in some major airports across the country despite the humongous funds budgeted and already expended for the projects annually.
This is just as the committee berated the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for what it termed as neglect of its oversight functions on the agency giving rise to various challenges in the airspace.
Vice chairman of the Senate committee on aviation, Senator Bala Ibn Na Allah who led other committee members on oversight visit to Lagos with his statement gave credence to the outcry of air traffic controllers’ over the years on the poor state of facilities.
Na allah expressed disappointment with the poor state of projects in the services of NAMA stating that some landing aids like localizers and glide scope were not functioning to the required level forcing pilots to act on their own decisions.
He noted that the cost of procurement of navigation equipment in Nigeria was five times in other countries across Africa warning that the Senate will ensure that funds budgeted for these equipment must be accounted for.
The Senator who is also a pilot explained that communications between pilots and air traffic controllers have been poor in some areas adding that there must be a change in the system to ensure that all the system work.
While berating NAMA for poor navigational aids, Senator Na Allah indicted the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority NCAA for not being up and doing in its responsibility of carrying out its oversight.
He said the problem would have been resolved if NCAA has done its oversight functions on the facilities at airports.
Meanwhile the deputy chairman of the committee earlier said this recent visit is unlike any other in the past as it intends to honestly look at where the industry is especially as there are no funds to carry out some high-end projects due to the economic challenges in the country.
“ We have appropriated money, implementation have begun already and what we are looking for are the successes and shortfalls. We must accept that the industry is in trouble and we are all involved, we are not here to indict anybody but we are reviewing the entire industry and projects line by line to see where we are , reduce certain or not continue with them so as to bring the industry back on course.”