13th December, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Managing Directors (MDs) of two key aviation agency and the heads of four other agencies and appointed replacements.
Those sacked included the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Kabir Yusuf Mohammed; Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr. Tayib Adetunji Odunowo; Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Engr. Akinola Olateru; Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu and the Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Capt. Alkali Mahmud Modibbo.
A statement issued by presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said Tinubu also suspended the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Shuaibu Nuhu.
Nuhu was suspended from office to enable the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct an unfettered investigation into the activities of the suspended Director-General and other senior officials in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
He appointed Capt. Chris Najomo as the Acting Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority immediately.
The president appointed Mrs. Olubunmi Oluwaseun Kuku as the substantive Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
Also, Engr. Umar Ahmed Farouk has been appointed as the substantive Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency.
Mr. Alex Badeh Jr. has been appointed as the substantive Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, while Prof. Charles Anosike has been appointed the substantive Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.
Tinubu also appointed Mr. Joseph Shaka Imalighwe as the Acting Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), pending the appointment of a substantive Rector, in accordance with Section 13(2) of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology Act, 2022.
Tinubu 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).
According to Ajuri, the President 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.
“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,” he said.