The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has appealed to member states of the Banjul Accord Group (BAG) to remit their annual contribution to improve aviation safety in the region.
The BAG member states include Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
The Director General of NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, made the appeal while speaking at the opening of the 29th DGCAs of the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO) Board of Directors meeting held in Abuja.
The DG noted that funding has been a knotty issue affecting the sustainability of BAGASOO as contributions by member states have been the only source of funds for the regional body.
He stressed that “We must not allow BAGASOO to suffer as it remains our pride and heritage as our lone Regional Aviation Safety Oversight Organization in the West African sub-region.”
As the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Captain Najomo urged the BAGASOO Technical Committee of Finance and Administration to explore additional revenue sources and appealed to Member States to endeavour to remit their annual contributions as and when due.
He said the meeting for the next two days would examine reports by three technical committees, including the Technical Committee on Training, the Technical Committee on Safety, and the Technical Committee on Finance and Administration.
The DGCA said that the meeting will ratify strategic plans that would result in tangible accomplishments in line with the mandate of the committees and serve as a roadmap characterized by clear goals, KPIs and regional targets and benchmarks that drive greater progress, effectiveness and upward trajectory of BAGASOO.
He revealed that the meeting would also review some impactful activities and projects adding that the secretariat had been tasked to bring requisite manpower to efficiently execute the organisation’s mandate.
The DGCA mentioned that in his bid to ensure adherence to due process and financial transparency is enshrined in BAGASOO, he had approved the secondment of an internal auditor from the Nigeria CAA to BAGASOO at the request of the Executive Director of the body
The Executive Director of BAGASOO, Yailiza Silva, maintained that the meeting underscores ongoing efforts to strengthen the governance, financial integrity, and operational effectiveness of BAGASOO.
She harped on the need to ensure the sustainability and efficiency of the organisation, saying the regional body is working towards looking for alternative sources of funding the organisation to make meaningful progress.
She said “The financial stability of BAGASOO is directly dependent on the timely and full payment of contributions by member states. These payments are essential in sustaining our operations to implement critical programs, and fulfilling our mandate effectively.”
