Government is moving to deepen cooperation between Nigeria’s civil and military aviation authorities following the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash at Igbokoda, Ondo State, with a new framework expected to cover airworthiness, certification, training and safety.
Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, and Sunday Kelvin Aneke, chief of air staff, reached the agreement when Keyamo paid a condolence visit to the Nigerian Air Force following the incident.
The proposed collaboration will involve the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), while maintaining the statutory responsibilities of both institutions.
Keyamo said the tragedy underscored the need to narrow the longstanding separation between civil and military aviation on matters of safety and technical capacity.
“It is one country, one people. When disaster happens, it affects everybody. There were civilians in that air crash and when there’s an air crash in the civil aviation too, there can be military personnel. And so, it is important that we cooperate in the area of safety,” Keyamo said.
The minister said the Nigerian Air Force already relies on elements of civil aviation infrastructure, including air traffic control, and argued that the existing relationship should be extended to other areas of aviation safety.
“We have decided that we will cooperate in terms of capacity building,” he said.
Keyamo disclosed that a joint committee involving the NCAA and NAF would be established to facilitate cooperation in airworthiness, certification, training and other safety-related areas.
He also said NAF personnel would be allowed to participate in relevant training programmes undertaken by civil aviation authorities.
“There is no reason why we cannot take some names from the Air Force. We have a lot of training we go for, so there is no reason why we cannot,” the minister said.
Keyamo also acknowledged that the Air Force has specialised expertise that could benefit the civil aviation sector, describing the proposed arrangement as an exchange of knowledge and technical capacity.
“This is a kind of cross-pollination and symbiotic relationship we have decided to build for the safety of the lives of Nigerians,” he said.
Aneke welcomed the initiative, saying closer collaboration between the two sectors would strengthen aviation safety and technical capacity.
“We have both agreed that we need to move the aviation industry, whether military or civil, to a higher level,” the chief of air staff said.
He said discussions had already begun on a framework under which personnel from the civil aviation sector could contribute to the Air Force’s safety environment, particularly in airworthiness and certification, while Air Force personnel could also provide expertise to the civil aviation sector where necessary.
Aneke also welcomed the minister’s offer of access to training opportunities for Air Force personnel, saying the initiative would help improve professional capacity.
The chief of air staff stressed that the civil and military aviation authorities ultimately have a shared responsibility to protect Nigerians.
“We are serving the same government; we are protecting the same Nigerians. So we are just a blend of each other,” he said.
The new framework is expected to improve information sharing, technical cooperation, professional training and safety coordination between the country’s civil and military aviation authorities.
