The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Tuesday expressed optimism that the country would perform above expectations in the forthcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA).
The authority also clarified that the forthcoming audit has nothing to do with facilitation or security audit.
- Meet twin stars making waves in Hausa entertainment sector
- IBB: How Abacha deceived activists, prominent Nigerians to get into power
Director-General of the authority, Capt. Musa Nuhu in a chat with newsmen yesterday recalled that in the last ICAO Security Audit (USOAP-CMA) of Nigeria – the Effective Implementation (EI), Nigeria scored 96.4 per cent and the country received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance.
He explained that the USOAP-CMA Audit (security audit) is now scheduled for the third quarter of 2022, stressing that NCAA’s aspirational Effective Implementation (EI) score for the USOAP-CMA Audit is 90 per cent.
According to him, the planned ICAO audit is not the same as Annexes 9 and 17 of the international body.
ICAO Annex 9 is on facilitation, while Annex 17 contains Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) concerned with the security of international air transport and is amended regularly to address the evolving threat.
The USOAP audit, he stated, is an activity during which ICAO assesses the effective implementation of the critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system and conducts a systematic and objective review of a state’s safety oversight system to verify the status of its compliance with the provisions of ICAO Convention.
Insisting the planned audit is not a security audit, the DG stated that security had its separate audit and Nigeria has been performing satisfactorily in that aspect.
He said the country is prepared for the audit as all hands are on deck to ensure this becomes a reality.
He said: “NCAA will step up its oversight function and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders to ensure continued improvement in aviation security and facilitation. Security Audit is different from safety audit.
“What we are doing now is quite different from security audit and it’s not related to facilitation. I understand facilitation is good for passengers, but it has nothing to do with the current audit.
“The last security audit we had, Nigeria scored 96.4 per cent and because of this performance, Nigeria received ICAO Council President Award Certificate for its performance. Yes, I accept we have some challenges in the industry, just like in the other countries around the world. However, to say Nigeria is not ready for audit is a misnomer. Someone is saying we are not ready for two issues that are not part of the forthcoming audit. I think that is wrong.”
