The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is enhancing its safety oversight measures as the draft State Safety Programme document nears completion.

The State Safety Programme is an integrated set of regulations and activities aimed at improving safety in civil aviation. It is required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and is unique to each member state.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the agency.

The SSP ensures the effectiveness of safety performance elements and addresses identified aviation safety risks.

As part of the process to develop the SSP for Nigeria, the NCAA is hosting the ICAO-West and Central Africa Regional Office of the African and Indian Ocean Region Plan-State Safety Programme for Assistant Mission to Nigeria.

The Director-General, Civil Aviation, Nigeria, Capt. Chris Najomo, in his welcome address, said Nigeria will soon produce a draft document of the SSP and NSP.

“The document has gone through some of the processes that are required. We have sent out the document to stakeholders for input, and we have feedback,” he stated.

The DG, who was represented by the NCAA Director of Special Duties, Mr Horatius Egua, also said the NCAA has planned a few more programmes, like the physical stakeholders meeting in April 2025 and an SMS workshop for chief executives, because the SSP will not succeed if the CEOs in the aviation industry are not partners.

He noted that with technical support from WACAF-ICAO, it will help the NCAA bridge gaps that may not have been covered, adding that the technical mission programme will also help the Authority fast-track the implementation of the SSP programme.

The National Coordinator, SSP, and the General Manager, Air Operator Certification and Surveillance, NCAA, Iteke Chukwunomso, further explained that the SSP is an integration of safety activities and safety requirements.

“It’s not that we haven’t been doing that, but now we are going to be more proactive and predictive because we don’t need to wait till an accident happens,” he said.

According to him, “part of the SSP would require that the service providers implement an effective management system, and within the effective management systems of the service providers, they will be required to justify why they are continually being in operation through continuous collection, collation and analysis of safety data. That is what the SSP brings.”

“There is a safety management requirement for the states and service providers, which include airliners, approved maintenance organisations, approved training organisations, international general aviation operators, FAAN, NAMA, etc. Some of them have started implementing the State Management Systems, but not the way we want it to be,” he further explained.