The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) has commenced an assessment of Nigeria’s compliance with global aviation safety standards and will verify the effectiveness of corrective actions taken to address deficiencies identified in previous audits.

Hosted by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on behalf of the Federal Government, the ICVM will also evaluate the eight Critical Elements (CEs) that underpin a state’s safety oversight system. This is contained in a statement released in Abuja yesterday by the Media office of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

Welcoming the delegation at the opening ceremony, the Director-General, Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, said that the mission was a follow-up to the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP-CMA) conducted from August to September 2023, in which Nigeria scored 70.12% in Effective Implementation (EI).

He stressed that Nigeria has remained resolute in strengthening its safety oversight capabilities since the audit, saying: “We took the findings in good faith and with the utmost seriousness they deserved by conducting root cause analysis and promptly developing comprehensive Corrective Action Plans to address identified deficiencies.” The DGCA noted that ICAO has since validated the Corrective Action Plans, giving Nigeria a clear roadmap for implementation.

He said the NCAA has since executed key measures while sustaining its routine safety oversight mandate. Among the implemented actions, he listed the deployment of EMPIC as the Authority’s regulatory software to automate personnel licensing and aeromedical processes.

The NCAA has also signed an agreement with North West Data Solution for the deployment of SMS Pro software to centralise and digitise safety data reporting and management, ensuring compliance with ICAO Annex 19 requirements on a Safety Data Collection and Processing System (SDCPS).

To address ICAO Critical Element 4 on qualified technical personnel, more than 100 flight operations and airworthiness inspectors have undergone training on special authorization procedures at an EASA-approved institution in Comiso, Italy, and at another training organisation in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE). Captain Najomo added that several inspectors are currently undergoing Onthe-Job Training under an MoU with the Rwandan Civil Aviation Authority to qualify them on specialised authorisations.