…Prime Atlantic Safety Services’ New Facility Aims to Provide World-Class Training Options… Soyannwo
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has emphasized the Nigerian government’s commitment to boosting local content in aviation training.
The minister stated this during a recent tour and inauguration of the Prime Atlantic Safety Services new aviation training center in Ipara, Ogun State.
The facility aims to reduce Nigeria’s dependency on costly foreign training programs by providing world-class training options within the country.
During the ceremony, Mr. Keyamo witnessed different demonstrations and simulations of rescue efforts in aircraft ditching and fire fighting.
Briefing newsmen after the tour, he underscored the importance of local capacity-building, highlighting how domestic training initiatives are crucial for the aviation industry’s growth and for enhancing government revenue.
Keyamo noted that the establishment of this facility would greatly reduce the need for sending aviation personnel abroad for training, particularly for fire simulation courses, which Nigerian personnel previously had to complete in countries like Cameroon.
The minister also disclosed a directive from President Bola Tinubu to cut down on foreign travels for training.
“We want them to work hard to find local content where they can acquire their training”.
He expressed frustration with the recurring expenses of foreign training facilities, which often offer less expansive amenities compared to the newly established center in Ogun State.
Keyamo described foreign facilities as “one building, three stories high” with large corporate names that drive up costs unnecessarily for Nigerian agencies.
He reaffirmed the government’s determination to develop training infrastructure within Nigeria saying, “We need to conserve our foreign exchange, which is often spent sending personnel abroad”.
By utilizing local resources, Keyamo emphasized, the country could allocate more funds to address other pressing needs, including infrastructure and technology upgrades within Nigerian airports.
The minister encouraged government agencies and training bodies, namely, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to utilize the new center as a venue for seminars, workshops, and training sessions.
According to him, the Prime Atlantic facility’s design promotes focused learning in a serene, distraction-free environment, ideal for training programs.
“Instead of going to big hotels in major cities, we can bring trainers here, where they can stay on-site and train our people”.
The federal government, he added, is committed to supporting such initiatives by formulating policies that promote local training infrastructure, these policies, he noted, will help strengthen Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem and ensure the sustainability of the country’s training facilities.
Also speaking on the facility capacity, approvals and certification, the Managing Director, Prime Atlantic Safety Services, Mrs. Folake Soyannwo says, “in terms of capability, covers safety, survival and emergency response training and this is in various sectors. Today we’re focusing on the aviation sector”.
In terms of accreditation, she said, they go for what is recognized in the sector, NCAA accreditation and also focus always targeted on the international accreditation as well.
“That is why we talked about focusing on obtaining the ICAO standards, we already are working very closely on JIF accreditation, which is for industrial firefighting, we already have in place OPTO, which is for the offshore industry, so it’s a confirmation that depending on the sector and the accreditations that apply to that sector, we will go for it and in all cases we have actually attained the accreditations desired”.
