The long awaited amendment of the Act setting up the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency NAMA will soon come to pass as the House Committee on Aviation has promised to expedite action on the amendment of the Act.
The Act is to amended to reflect the current standards in the promotion of safe air Navigation in the country.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Nnaji Nnolim during an oversight visit of the committee to NAMA facilities at the Lagos Airport promised that a public hearing would be held were all stakeholders would make contributions toward the amendment of the Act.
Members of the House Committee on Aviation who were led by its chairman, Nnaji Nnolim and taken on a tour of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s facilities by its Managing Director, Captain Fola Akinkuotu expressed satisfaction of the facilities.
Places visited include, Lagos Airport control tower, The Total Radar Coverage site, airside of the runway and navigation aids.
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After the tour, the house Committee chairman, Nnaji Nnolim explained that the purpose of their visit was to ensure that they support the agency in carrying out its functions and also assist in getting the necessary budgetary provision for the procurement of safety critical facilities for effective communication, Navigation and surveillance.
“When budget implementation of 2020 will commence, those issues he mentioned will be taking into consideration. We are also looking at the IGR which we also believe we will pass, if we pass the IGR and the budget allocation, they can do a lot of things”.
While expressing satisfaction with the state of the NAMA equipment, Mr. Nnolim however noted that there was need for the upgrade of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria Project, TRACON which was partially being operated manually.
“We saw also the need for upgrade which the MD told us is on the look. We notice the manual operations in tracon, when we got to the control tower, we also saw the digital aspect of it. It is highly commendable that we have such equipment on ground, but we also believe that with government supports, those facilities need to be upgraded, other airports across the country need to follow suit, not just Lagos, Abuja and port Harcourt”.
Managing Director, NAMA, Captain Fola Akinkuotu said the management team of the agency was happy that the committee had come to visit to see areas where the agency needed help to enhance safety.
“Two areas where the committee will help us is the passage of the bill and modification as required as well as in funding to be able to catch up with some of the areas we need more funding. It is good the NASS members are here to see what we have and what we need and what we need to upgrade on”.
He also disclosed that the ongoing automation of the Aeronautical Information Service AIS Was on course, adding that with upgrade of its facilities to promote safety, the Agency’s internally generated revenue would increase.
“AIS automation is in good progress” .
