Aviation Safety Oversight: ICAO Begins Coordination Validation Mission to NCAA

• As 100 flight operations, airworthiness inspectors undergo training at EASA institute, Comiso

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Wednesday began its Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) team to the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The mission represents a critical milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards attaining global excellence in aviation safety oversight.

The ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) is an on-site, evidence-based audit designed to validate a state’s compliance with aviation safety standards and confirm the effectiveness of corrective actions (CAPs) taken to fix previously identified deficiencies

As a follow-up to the ICAO USOAP-CMA audit, conducted from August to September 2023, in which Nigeria recorded an Effective Implementation (EI) score of 70.12%, NCAA have remained resolute and steadfast in its commitment to improving Nigeria aviation safety oversight capabilities.

In his welcome address, the Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, noted the agency took the audit findings in good faith and with the utmost seriousness that they deserved by conducting root cause analysis and promptly developing comprehensive Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) to address identified deficiencies.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the event in Abuja, Najomo said: “I am pleased to note that these CAPs were subsequently validated by ICAO, providing us with a clear roadmap for implementation.”

The implementation of these corrective actions, alongside our traditional safety oversight responsibilities, Najomo asserted, included, but are not limited to, the following: “We actualized the deployment of EMPIC as the regulatory software for the Authority, specifically in the automation of personnel licensing and aeromedical processes. The Authority’s agreement with EMPIC will initially address four modules and the full operationalization is scheduled for May, 2026.

“Nigeria had within this period entered into an agreement with NorthWest Data Solution for the deployment of the SMS Pro software as the digital software to entrench the centralization and digitalization of our safety data reporting and management system, ensuring compliance with the ICAO Annex 19 requirements on a Safety Data Collection and Processing System (SDCPS).”

The DGCA, opined that, “in fulfilling our responsibility under ICAO Critical Element 4 on qualified technical personnel, more than One Hundred flight operations and airworthiness inspectors underwent training on special authorization procedures at an EASA-approved training institution in Comiso, Italy and another training organization in Dubai, UAE.

“In furtherance to this, some inspectors are currently undergoing On-the-Job Training (OJT), coordinated under an MoU with the Rwandan Civil Aviation Authority to qualify these inspectors on specialized authorisations.

“This is in addition to the regular annual training plans that are developed and implemented specially for NCAA’s aviation safety inspectors.4) Nigeria has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the surrounding Flight Information Regions (FIRs) for ensuring safe, orderly and efficient air traffic flow across boundaries.”

Najomo, speaking further, explained the NCAA has implemented a robust rule-making process that ensures complete and on-time transposition of the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) into the national regulations.

His words: “We subjected our international aerodromes to a 5-phase certification process to ensure all were certified in accordance with ICAO Annex 14, Nig. CARs Part 12 and our documented procedures.

“We established the first-of-its-kind flight data center situated right in this building to give teeth to our goal of risk-based oversight as part of a robust State Safety Programme (SSP).”

Building on this momentum, Nigeria, he stressed, collaborated with the ICAO West and Central Africa (WACAF) Regional office and hosted two ROST Assistance Missions (in September, 2025 and February, 2026) to evaluate its progress, stating that the recommendations arising from those missions have been rigorously implemented across the industry.

He added: “All these actions serve as precursors to what has brought us here together; the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM). Lastly, we undertook a broad review of our processes and procedures to ensure they are in tune with current realities, and that they are achieving their intended purposes.

“Back to this mission, I want to point out that a review of the Online Framework (OLF) may erroneously indicate a period of inactivity in the upload of the implemented evidences of the validated CAPs.

“In reality, a lot of work was actually done offline because of a technical glitch for a period of time which did not permit the upload of the evidences of these implemented CAPs onto the OLF to Nigeria’s team.

“I would want to use this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the directors of the relevant audit areas, the NCMC, the Focal Points and other members of the team, who had worked tirelessly, having sleepless nights and attending several meetings even at odd hours to get us to where we are today.

“I must emphasize that Nigeria is not subjecting herself to these audits and validation missions merely for the sake of improving the numerical E.I score, certainly not. Rather, our overarching objective is to institutionalise a resilient safety oversight system that fosters continuous improvement in safety performance.

“This aligns perfectly with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s policy on strict adherence to international safety regulations which, in itself, will automatically elevate Nigeria’s ICAO rating. As you may be aware, the Global Implementation Support Symposium (GISS) is ongoing, as we speak, in Marrakech, Morocco.

“I would like to inform you that, at this symposium, ICAO formally presented Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Master Plan (CAMP) to the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN.

“This presentation highlights Nigeria’s commitment to structured planning that will drive a safe, secure and sustainable aviation growth over the next two decades. To the mission team; on behalf of the NCAA, the Government and people of this wonderful nation, I extend my profound gratitude to you and, by extension, the topmost hierarchy of ICAO for embarking on this mission.

“We enthusiastically look forward to the mission, your debrief and the final report. I want to further assure you that Nigeria has put in the work and will, during this mission, present these evidences for your validation. I wish you a very productive mission,” Najomo concluded.