Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has cried out to the House of Representatives over the deduction of 50 per cent of its revenue at source.

NAMA’s Managing Director, Farouk Ahmed Umar, who spoke at the start of a four-day retreat for members of the House Committee on Aviation held yesterday in Abuja, stressed the need to address the issue, which is in clear breach of the NAMA Act 2022.

According to him, Section 9(2) of the Act clearly states that all fees imposed by NAMA are not subject to deductions or remittance to any other body.

Umar claimed that the practice was crippling the ability of NAMA to maintain essential infrastructure like towers, radars, communication networks, pay and train thousands of skilled personnel, who manage the skies daily, and fund critical upgrades like PBN and SBAS systems in tandem with IICAO’s stringent safety standards.

“This is not merely a funding issue; it is about national safety and sovereignty. Without financial autonomy, modernisation efforts will stall, safety will be compromised, and Nigeria will fail to meet its international obligations,” he noted.

He called on the committee to direct immediate compliance with Section 9(2) by ensuring that all deductions at source were halted without delay, adding that the action would unlock NAMA’s potential to modernise, innovate, and guarantee the safety of Nigeria’s skies.

Among others, he called on lawmakers to resolve role conflicts with the NCAA and ensure NAMA executes its statutory mandate, review and adjust air navigation charges, which had been stagnant since 2008.