14th December, 2023
President Bola Tinubu continued his cleansing of the Nigerian aviation sector on Thursday with the sack of all the directors in the agencies in the sector.
The directors sacked by the President, according to a statement by the spokesperson of Ministry of Aviation, Odutayo Oluseyi include the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Meteorological Agency, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, and Nigeria Safety and Investigation Bureau.
“I am directed to inform all directors of the following agencies that they have been relieved of their appointments forthwith and should hand over to the most senior officer in their various directorates with immediate effect,” Oluseyi said in the statement.
He added that the move was part of the efforts of the President to revamp the sector to ensure a safe and efficient air travel experience for Nigerians.
Oluseyi added in the statement that the directors of the agencies are to hand over to the most senior personnel in their respective directorates without further delay.
However, the statement indicated that the Board Secretaries and Legal Advisers of the agencies are not affected by the directive. The sack of directors followed the removal of all heads of aviation agencies from their offices on Wednesday by President Tinubu.
The President also announced replacements for the sacked Chief Executives.
While announcing the sack in a statement, Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity said it is in line with the president’s determination to bring world-class standards to the country’s Civil Aviation sector for the well-being of the citizens and other sectoral stakeholders.
Those affected were the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Kabir Mohammed, who was replaced with Olubunmi Kuku; the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Tayib Adetunji Odunowo, was replaced with Umar Farouk, the Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Akinola Olateru, was replaced by Alex Badeh, while the Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Mansur Bako Matazu, was replaced by Charles Anosike.
“Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Capt. Alkali Mahmud Modibbo has been removed from office and replaced with 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,” Mr Ngelale said.
However, the statement also indicated that the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Shuaibu Nuhu, was also 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.
The statement indicated that Nuhu is to be replaced by Chris Najomo as the Acting Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority immediately.