The decision by a member of the House of Representatives to cancel the licenses of several airstrips in the nation has been characterized by Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, as “a lack of understanding of the aviation industry.”
Using his X account on Saturday, Keyamo addressed the lawmaker’s worries and stressed that the House of Representatives as a whole had not demanded the cancellation of any private airfield licenses.
Following requests from several members, namely in the House of Representatives, to revoke certain private organizations’ and individuals’ airfield licenses for security reasons, he responded.
Sulaiman Abubakar, a member of the House of Representatives, contended that the country’s security issues would worsen if private jets are frequently approved.
However, Keyamo responded to the MPs’ action by educating the public about how the aviation industry operates with relation to license approvals.
“I don’t think this is accurate. The House of Representatives as a whole did not demand that the Minister cancel any private airport’s license. The Aviation Committee was unanimously directed to investigate the motion that was made in that regard, I believe.
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Although the Hon. Member who made the motion had a genuinely patriotic goal, it was founded on a total ignorance of the aviation industry. They will be happy when we explain to them how private air strips operate and the procedures our agencies go through before accepting them.
“The runway and terminal structure are the only things that private air strip owners are accountable for. But once the control tower is built, it is fully turned over to the Federal Government via the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), which has total authority over all of Nigeria’s airspace.
Typically, an MOU is negotiated with NAMA in this regard prior to the airstrip being authorized for use. In all Nigerian airports and airports, NAMA is the provider of air traffic controllers and engineers. For these services, the Federal Government receives hefty payments from the owners of private airports.
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No object enters Nigeria without first obtaining NAMA’s approval and submitting a detailed flight plan that includes the departure and landing locations. And as of late, I have mandated that all planes entering the nation must land at our international airports first, where they will be thoroughly examined and inspected before traveling locally to the airport or airstrip of their choice.
Therefore, it is utterly and totally impossible for any owner of a private airport to just board an airplane and come and go through that facility. Doing so is prohibited by the Federal Government.
You won’t be allowed to take off or land without first requesting and receiving permission. I appreciate the Member’s patriotism, but I wish he had been in touch with us to share his thoughts before hurriedly moving such a motion. He stated, “I have attached the NAMA Act for public consumption, which grants the Federal Government sole authority over Nigerian airspace through NAMA.”
