President, of the Association of Foreign Airlines (AFARN), Mr. Kingsley Nwokoma, has lauded the initiative of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for the upgrade of navigational facilities across the country, remarking that many of the security and surveillance equipment will help greatly to detect the activities of oil thieves and others who engage in illicit activities.
Nwokoma said: “We hear situations where helicopters operate and you can’t identify them with oil theft going on. All these installations are going to improve safety not only in the aviation industry but safety of human lives. A drone is a smaller thing. If those drones land in the forest, the installations will capture their movement.”
Nwokoma used the occasion to announce the AFARN Safety Summit and Awards 2022 with the theme, ‘Aviation Safety In A Global Distressed Economy: The Place of Nigeria.’ He disclosed that the aviation industry was the most affected by COVID-19, and that it took a long time before the sector recovered.
The economies of the world according to him were distressed further by the Russia-Ukraine war, hinting that the theme of this summit is in view of the new world order and the place of Nigeria in terms of aviation security.
The Minister of Aviation, Senator HadiSirika will be the special guest of honour, while the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu will be the host. The major theme of the event will be presented by the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The most interesting part of the summit, Nwokoma emphasised, would be the presentation of the award to the Chairman, of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (Rtd) for waging war on drug trafficking in Nigeria.
“The MD of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu; the Director General of NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu; MD of NAMA, Lawrence Pwajok; Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Akin Olateru will be inducted into the AFARN Aviation Hall of Fame, and other awards would be given out that day,” Nwokoma said.
