The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo, has cautioned against any further reduction in the regulator’s statutory funding, warning that such a move could weaken Nigeria’s aviation safety oversight.

Mr Najomo spoke on Thursday at a public hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation on the proposed review of the allocation of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC) at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

He said the NCAA supported adequate funding for all aviation agencies but warned that changing the existing revenue-sharing formula without considering the regulator’s responsibilities could affect its ability to discharge its statutory mandate.

According to him, the TSC accounts for about 85 per cent of the NCAA’s revenue, making the charge critical to the authority’s operations.

He contrasted this with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), which generates a substantial portion of its revenue from commercial charges paid by aircraft operators for air navigation services.

Mr Najomo cited the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Policies on Charges for Airports and Air Navigation Services, Doc 9082, which provides guidance on how costs associated with air navigation services should be recovered.

He said the cost of such services should principally be recovered from aircraft operators that use them rather than through passenger-based charges such as the TSC.

He explained that any further reduction in the NCAA’s statutory funding could have implications for the authority’s ability to maintain effective safety oversight across the country’s civil aviation industry.

He told lawmakers that the authority could not responsibly guarantee the same level of safety oversight if its funding was reduced without an alternative and sustainable source of revenue.

The warning comes as lawmakers consider proposals to review the distribution of the five per cent TSC and CSC among aviation agencies.

The debate has also attracted concerns from airline operators, who argue that the TSC has become a financial burden on domestic carriers and have proposed replacing the percentage-based charge with a fixed levy.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), represented at the hearing by former Managing Director of NAMA, Roland Iyayi, urged the National Assembly to abolish the five per cent TSC and replace it with a flat-rate charge similar to the Passenger Service Charge collected by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

Mr Iyayi argued that the percentage-based system places additional pressure on airlines at a time when operators are grappling with high fuel, maintenance and other operating costs.

The AON also proposed increasing NAMA’s share of aviation revenues and establishing a dedicated Aviation Development Fund to finance infrastructure and other sectoral needs.

Other aviation experts oppose equal funding treatment

Mr Najomo, however, said any additional funding required by NAMA should first be pursued through improved collection of its statutory commercial revenues, greater operational efficiency and stronger corporate governance.

He added that targeted government support could be considered for strategic capital infrastructure where necessary, in line with ICAO policies and international best practice.

Other aviation experts at the hearing also warned against treating the regulator and aviation service providers in the same way under a revised funding arrangement.

Musa Nuhu, a former Nigeria representative on the ICAO Council and immediate past director-general of the NCAA, said the regulator had a distinct responsibility that should not be weakened by changes to the funding structure.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ICAO, Mahmud Ben-Tukur, similarly stressed the importance of maintaining the independence and financial capacity of the aviation regulator.

They argued that while aviation agencies perform complementary functions, responsibility for safety oversight of Nigeria’s civil aviation industry rests with the NCAA.

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Speaking virtually, Bernard Aliu, a former Nigeria permanent representative to ICAO and former president of the ICAO Assembly, and Harold Demuren, a former director-general of civil aviation, also backed the call to preserve the NCAA’s financial independence.

They said a strong and adequately funded regulator was essential to maintaining Nigeria’s aviation safety oversight system and compliance with international aviation standards.

The public hearing was attended by members of the National Assembly’s aviation committees, including their chairmen, Abdulfatai Buhari and Abdullahi Idris Garba, as well as heads of aviation agencies, airline operators and other industry stakeholders.