President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, December 13 2023, relieved or suspended the heads of various agencies in the aviation sector, in what the presidency described as the president’s determination to bring world class standards to Nigerian Civil Aviation in consumer protection and the promotion of the wellbeing of Nigerian passengers and other sectoral stakeholders.
A statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, broke the news in a statement titled, ‘President Tinubu approves leadership changes in the Aviation and Aerospace Development Sector.’
It identified those sacked as Mr. Kabir Mohammed of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN); Mr. Tayib Odunowo of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA); Akinola Olateru of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB); Prof. Mansur Matazu of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET); and Alkali Modibbo, the Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT).
Suspended from office is Captain Musa Nuhu, the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which the statement said is “to enable the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to conduct an unfettered investigation into the activities of the suspended Director-General and other senior officials in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority”.
To replace those sacked are Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku as the substantive Managing Director of FAAN; Umar Farouk as the substantive Managing Director of NAMA; Mr. Alex Badeh Jr. as the substantive Director-General of the NSIB.
Others are Prof. Charles Anosike as the substantive Director-General of NiMET, Mr. Joseph Imalighwe as the Acting Rector of NCAT, while Mr Chris Najomo assumes office as the Acting Director-General of the NCAA immediately.
The statement further said: “Furthermore, President Bola Tinubu approves 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 anticipates that the new leadership across this critical sector will uphold the safety, convenience, and comfort of the Nigerian people as primary and sacrosanct in all of their administrative activities. Due to the high cost of underperformance in the sector, the President demands 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 above-mentioned directives of the President take immediate effect.”
