How attempts to kill NCAA was scuttled, by Keyamo, Briggs  

A former Minister of Aviation, Captain Benoni Briggs and current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, weekend, revealed several attempts to scrap the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) or merge it with another agency in the aviation industry.

The duo said the several plots were scuttled because of the importance of NCAA in the aviation industry.

Captain Briggs was the aviation minister between 1998 and 1999 when the agency was created.  

Speaking at the gala and awards night to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NCAA in Abuja, the former minister stated that he was threatened several times for creating the NCAA, but he stood his ground when told to merge it with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

On his part, Mr. Keyamo stated that he personally took the initiative to convinced the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the need to separate the agencies in the ministry as against the recommendation of the Steve Orosanya report that recommended the merger of the agencies into one entity.

Keyamo, who praised the NCAA director general, Captain Chris Najomo, for the giant infrastructure development witnessed in the last one year said: “We should thank God that it is during our tenures as minister, as DG, as directors, that we have reached this silver jubilee stretch in the journey of the NCAA.

“From the story of the former minister, I am sure you have seen that the NCAA is a child of God that despite turbulent waters and attempts, sometimes to kill the NCAA, it has survived 25 years. And I’m sure you know that any child that is born  and at the age of 25, of course, is undoubtedly of maturity. By then, you should have graduated, served and you would have started working at 25 if everything goes well. So 25 years is an age of maturity.

“Let me tell you my small story too, about the NCAA. Unknown to you and maybe known to a few people the Steve Orosanya report also recommended the merger of NCAA and that was also another attempt to kill the NCAA.

“That report was passed on, I think, from Jonathan’s government to the Buhari government and then to the present government. It was ready, since Jonathan’s government, if I remember. So that was another attempt to kill the NCAA. And so, throughout the tenure of the Buhari government, we couldn’t consider that report. Incidentally, I was the only surviving minister for Buhari in this government, so I was part of that government, and it came up a few times.”