ICAO Rep warns against crippling NCAA’s financial base

Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has demanded the restoration of its original 65 per cent share of the five per cent ticket sales charge (TSC) and cargo sales charge (CSC).

The Director General, Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Ona Najomo, made the call during the Public Hearing of the House of Representatives Aviation Committee’s proposed review of the allocation of the five per cent ticket sales charge (TSC) and cargo sales charge (CSC), which held yesterday in Abuja.

The DGCA averred that the Authority believed that every aviation agency should be adequately funded to effectively discharge its statutory responsibilities.

The NCAA urged the House Committee to champion the return to the original vision that drove the establishment of the NCAA and NAMA, saying the NCAA’s allocation of the five per cent TSC be restored to 65 per cent to overcome the deficiencies identified by ICAO at its last audit, and bring Nigeria in line with global best funding practices, the DGCA called.

The Authority further submitted that any review of Nigeria’s aviation funding framework should also take cognisance of the fact that the NCAA remained heavily dependent on the Ticket Sales Charge for the discharge of its statutory responsibilities, whereas NAMA already derived the greater proportion of its income from commercial charges levied on aircraft operators for the services it provides.

Najomo explained further that in addition to Federal Government funding, NAMA gets funding for its infrastructure through BASA funds, from which NCAA does not benefit.

Also, the representative of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Mr Mahmud Ben-Tukur, warned against actions capable of jeopardising the financial independence and the exclusive safety oversight roles of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The ICAO representative also warned that treating the regulator and service providers alike in the proposed funding adjustment was against international best practices and could gravely undermine the independence of the regulator and safety of the Nigerian aviation industry.

The public hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation over the proposed review of the allocation of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sales Charge was held yesterday in Abuja at the National Assembly Complex.