Good corporate governance pivotal to sustainability of Nigeria’s airlines – NCAA

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Monday said good corporate governance was pivotal to the sustainability of domestic airlines in the country.

Mr. Sam Adurogboye, Acting General Manager, Public Relations of NCAA, made the assertion while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Adurogboye said that the NCAA had formulated and implemented sufficient policies aimed at improving safety and efficiency of airlines.

According to him, this can only be achieved if there is good corporate governance on the part of the airline operators.

He said: “The NCAA as the regulatory body will continue to do its job to ensure the safety and security of Nigeria’s airspace.

“However, the NCAA is not in charge of running these airlines but we believe that when there is good corporate governance, they will adhere to the Safety and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

“The NCAA’s directive is that no airline should operate without a minimum of two aircraft in its fleet.

“Even with these two aircraft, an airline with good corporate governance will be able to deliver effective services to its customers more than its counterparts with more aircraft but is being managed poorly.’’

He also spoke on the debt owed NCAA and other aviation agencies by the domestic airlines which had accumulated over the years to billions of Naira.

According to him, the indebtedness was due to the non-remittance of five per cent Cargo and Charter Sales Charges (TSA/TCA) collected at source from passengers by the airlines on behalf of the Federal Government.

He said the sales charges were to enable all aviation agencies carry out their responsibilities of providing safe, secure and efficient regulatory services for the overall benefits of all aviation stakeholders.

Adurogboye said the introduction of the TSA/TCA automation of payments, which offered real-time transparent transactions, had helped to address the issue.

“So, we are collecting the money from source. We have also been working with the airlines on how they can pay off their debts through payments by installment,’’ he added.