In an effort to reinvigorate the the nation’s aviation sector, President Bola Tinubu has shaken up the headship of its parastatals.
The shake-up which came up in form of removals, suspensions and replacements in six parasttals and agencies in the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development took many by surprise.
Ajuri Ngelale, the special adviser on Media to the President, however said a statement that the changes were in line with Tinubu’s determination to bring world class standards to Nigerian civil aviation in consumer protection and promotion of wellbeing of Nigerian passengers and other sectoral stakeholders.
The new parastatal changes, according to Ngelale, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), where Kabir Yusuf Mohammed, has been replaced with Olubunmi Oluwaseun Kuku as the substantive managing director; Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), where Tayib Adetunji Odunowo was been removed and replaced with Engr. Umar Ahmed Farouk as substantive managing director; Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), had Engr. Akinola Olateru replaced with Alex Badeh Jr. as substantive Director-General; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), got Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu replaced with Prof. Charles Anosike as the substantive Director-General; the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), had Capt. Alkali Mahmud Modibbo replaced with Joseph Shaka Imalighwe as Acting Rector pending the appointment of a substantive Rector, in accordance with Section 13(2) of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology Act, 2022; and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), where Capt. Musa Shuaibu Nuhu was suspended from office to enable the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) conduct an uninhibited investigation into the activities of the suspended DG and other senior officials.
Meanwhile Capt. Chris Najomo has assumed office as the Acting Director-General of the NCAA with immediate effect.
President Tinubu also approved the commencement of a diligent process to be conducted by the minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development to recruit a substantive vice-chancellor and other principal officers of the African Aviation and Aerospace University (AAAU).
The President, Ngelale stated, anticipated that the new leadership across this critical sector would uphold the safety, convenience, and comfort of the Nigerian people as primary and sacrosanct in all of their administrative activities, adding that due to the high cost of underperformance in the sector, the President demanded the immediate establishment of world class policy design, implementation, and regulatory frameworks to reposition the sector in alignment with his Renewed Hope Agenda.
All of the directives of the President, he added, took immediate effect.
