The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has emphasized the importance of technical expertise in overseeing the various agencies under his ministry.
According to him, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire aviation ecosystem to make informed decisions.
During a Channels Television interview programme, Hard Copy, Keyamo highlighted the need for technical support from agencies such as NIMET, which provides weather reports, and NAMA, responsible for navigational aids.
He stressed that these agencies bring technical reports to him, which he then uses to make final decisions.
“That’s why when anybody comes to tell you that they are aviation experts, it makes me laugh”.
The Minister also expressed skepticism towards individuals who claim to be aviation experts, citing their limited experience in specific areas of the industry.
“Many people, all their lives have just been pilots. They do nothing about weather reports. They do nothing about navigational equipment. They do nothing about running the airport”..
He added, “somebody has just been an air traffic control officer all his life, just directing traffic. He doesn’t know how to fly a plane, he doesn’t know how to administer airports and he comes and says he’s an aviation expert”.
Keyamo stressed that true aviation expertise comes from having a broad understanding of the entire industry, which can only be achieved by overseeing the entire ecosystem.
“The only person who is an aviation expert is the minister. After he spends some time and he oversees the entire ecosystem with a bird’s eye view on the entire system, That is the proper aviation expert if he does well,” he stated.
The Minister also downplayed the role of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), saying that while the Director General is responsible for regulating safety standards, they lack expertise in airport administration, which falls under the purview of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
“He can’t be an aviation expert. All you do is regulation. The DG of the NCAA, you do regulation as to safety of aircraft, how the aircraft is ready to fly, certifying the aircraft free to fly and all that but do you know anything about the administration of airports? DG of the NCAA has nothing to do with how you administer airports, it’s about FAAN”.
