Workers under the Joint Action Congress of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority have called on President Bola Tinubu to confirm the acting Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Capt. Chris Najomo.
In a communiqué, which emanated from an extraordinary leadership meeting signed and made available to the PUNCH by the NCAA branch Chairmen of the National Union of Air Travel Employees, Jakada Anthony; Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Remi Aderinkom; Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, Ben Godwin and the
National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers cum JAC, Diepreye Saburugha, the aviation workers expressed confidence in the current leadership of the NCAA.
The call comes barely eight days after the Airline Operators of Nigeria urged the President to confirm Najomo’s appointment.
AON, in a statement jointly signed by its Vice President and spokesperson, Allen Onyema, and Prof Obiora Okonkwo, respectively, wanted Najomo confirmed, claiming that his administration was the best in the aviation industry.
There has been controversy over the leadership of the NCAA.
The PUNCH reports that there has been tension within the NCAA over the past nine months, due to a leadership dispute between Capt Musa Nuhu, who was appointed substantive DG of the NCAA by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, and Najomo, who was appointed as acting DG of the agency by President Bola Tinubu in January this year.
The workers stressed that the leadership style of Najomo fits into President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda, geared toward achieving the aviation industry that would conveniently compete with the rest of the world.
The unions further appealed to the Federal Government to build on the recently found formula of the sector to achieve greater success.
The communiqué reads, “JAC reminded the Federal Government that aviation is a precision industry with no margin of error worldwide. Regulatory and oversight demands firm and professional leadership which cannot be subjected to political whims and caprices.
“JAC therefore believed that Nigeria having found a formula that works in its civil aviation regulatory leadership, should rationally embrace and build upon this formula in order to continue the repositioning of the industry into a hub of civil aviation in Africa, as led by the Minister of Aviation & Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
“Finally, JAC, therefore, appeals to our dear President and Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Hon. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, for the confirmation of the appointment of Capt. Chris Ona Najomo as the substantive Director-General of Civil Aviation of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.”
