FG has ordered the audit of all local airlines in Nigeria.

JomogNews reports that the Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to conduct a thorough audit of all domestic airlines operating in the country.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.

He said that beyond the suspension of Dana Airlines and the ongoing audit of the airline, all other carriers in the country would be audited to guarantee the safety of passengers and the health of the civil aviation industry.

Keyamo, who assumed office last August following his appointment by President Bola Tinubu, has come under fire in the last 24 hours over what some civil aviation watchdogs described as “external interference” in the autonomy of the NCAA.

On Wednesday, Keyamo directed the the NCAA to suspend Dana Airlines, saying recent events of the local carrier raised serious concerns regarding both the safety and financial viability of their operations. The minister said the airline should remain suspended until the conduct of a comprehensive audit, a directive NCAA Director General Chris Najomo enforced immediately.

The suspension of Dana Air was enforced some 24 hours after one of the airlines’ planes skidded off the runway at Lagos airport.

Some stakeholders subsequently said it was wrong for the minister to direct the NCAA to suspend an airline, urging the Senior Advocate of Nigeria to respect the autonomy of the regulator.

However, Keyamo slammed his critics, saying that the law empowers him to direct the NCAA to do the right thing “in matters of national security”.

The minister argued that “a series of incidents had happened two years ago that the airline is not healthy”.

“Let those aviation experts take their wives and children to board that airline that was declared unsafe,” said a furious Keyamo.

“Would Nigerians have preferred that I keep quiet and be part of the cartel, all in the name of I am not supposed to interfere? What am I doing as minister?” he queried.

On how long the audit of Dana Airlines would take, he said, “It can be as quick as possible. Like I said, do the right thing, return to business. We must do the right things for the safety of Nigerians. Not only them (Dana Airlines), we will carry an audit of all of them, all of them. Let Nigerians be safe when they fly our airlines.”

. Celebrates Airline For The Commencement of the Lagos-London Route

Fidelity Bank Plc has commended Air Peace’s performance since it commenced flight operations about 10 years ago.

Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, the Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc gave the commendation over the weekend in Lagos during a special event organised for the airline by the bank to celebrate Air Peace for the milestone of commencement of direct flights from Lagos to London.

According to Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, who doubled as the host at the event, the airline has upheld the principles of financial discipline and good corporate governance since inception, while it has also been very loyal to the bank.

She expressed delight that the bank had the airline as one of its major clients since inception, stressing that the Bank was celebrating the airline’s milestone of launching direct flight service to London and other developments it would attain in the future.

L – R: Vice Chairman, Air Peace, Mrs. Alice Onyema; Chairman, Air Peace, Dr Allen Onyema;
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; and Managing Director, Graviti Hill Ltd, Dr Ken Onyeali Ikpe at a special event organised by the bank to celebrate the commencement of Air Peace’s flight operations into London recently.

The event, which held at the Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos, had in attendance several bank Managing Directors, stakeholders in the aviation sector, media personalities and well-wishers of both brands.

Speaking at the event, an elated Dr. Allen Onyema, the Chairman, Air Peace, observed that it was not rosy for the airline to attain its status and expressed gratitude to the flying public, the various aviation stakeholders, the media and the government for the continued support since it launched in 2014.

He specifically acknowledged the pivotal role played by Engr. Ben Adeyileka, the former Acting Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), in helping the airline secure its Airline Operator Certificate (AOC).

He further commended Fidelity Bank for the consistent support and stressed that the bank had contributed to the success story of the airline.

“I call it our journey with Fidelity Bank. I did not envisage this day would come when an indigenous institution would be celebrating another indigenous institution. Fidelity supports real business. They keep removing people from the streets of poverty. Let other banks emulate Fidelity,” he said.

He reiterated that Air Peace was set up primarily to create employment, not for profitmaking, stressing that the motivation behind the business was to empower Nigerians economically.

“Air Peace was not borne out of the intent to profiteer, but to create jobs. Air Peace was not established because I wanted more money but because of the conviction that running an airline would create massive job opportunities. That was why we went into aviation”, he remarked.

He restated the airline’s belief in the Nigerian project, maintaining that supporting the airline meant supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy.

Onyema further craved for the support of all Nigerians on the Lagos-London route, which it opened on March 30, 2024.

He explained that the airline needed to sustain the route, stressing that this could only be done through support from Nigerians.

He said: “For every penny you pay to Air Peace, you pay to sustain the jobs of thousands of Nigerians and support economic growth.

“Air Peace flies you from any of our domestic routes to London. So, you can fly from Yola to London via Lagos. From the local airport, you are taken to the international airport free of charge with a seamless luggage transfer.”

He pledged that the airline would continue to fully adhere to the standard of safety and lauded the management and staff of Air Peace for their efforts in realising the London dream.

The military authority has cleared the air on the reported attack on the Kaduna International Airport by bandits saying 12 bandits were killed.

The authority claimed the reported attack on the Airport happened six kilometres away from the terminal and outside the Airport perimeter fence.

It also said 12 of the bandits immediately given a hot chase were killed through airstrike, JomogNews reports.

Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Garrison Command 1 Division Nigerian Army, Brig-General Uriah Opuene and Air Force Base Commander, Air Commodore Ademuyiwa Adedoyin led journalists on an assessment tour of the scene of the attack.

Brig-General Opuene, while briefing newsmen, explained that the Kaduna International Airport is very secured, assuring that there are several layers of security at the Airport and that bandits could not have dared to attack it.

He stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the bandits were just passing through the back of the Airport towards Riyawa village, stressing that they sighted the security man engaged by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to watch over their metrological equipment around the axis.

According to him, “As you can see, this place is about six kilometers away from the Airport terminal. The bandits were only passing behind the airport perimeter fence when they saw the security man engaged by NAMA and they fired at him. They just took advantage of that to pass a message.”

He explained that even the first layer was not breached.

“So, as you can see from the distance, the insinuation outside that the terrorists took over the Airport is not correct. If the terrorists had entered, they would have met us there,” he said.

Also speaking, Air Commodore Adedoyin, the NAF Base Commander also explained that security around the Airport general area had been beefed up since the security of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) was breached last year, adding that bandits don’t have the audacity to attack the Kaduna Airport.

He assured that the Airport is safe and secured, adding that the State Government was engaging citizens in communities around the Airport to scale up intelligence gathering.

He assured that there was no threat to the immediate vicinity of the Airport because the military were ahead of the bandits.