Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, have agreed to deepen collaboration between civil and military aviation authorities following the Nigerian Air Force aircraft incident at Igbokoda, Ondo State.
The agreement was reached on Wednesday when Keyamo paid a condolence visit to Aneke over the tragedy, with both officials resolving to strengthen cooperation in aviation safety, airworthiness, certification, training and capacity building.
After signing the condolence register, Keyamo held a private meeting with the Chief of Air Staff before announcing plans for a joint framework involving the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
Keyamo described the incident as a national tragedy and commended the sacrifices of personnel of the Nigerian Air Force.
“We value the Air Force. We value the efforts of the gallant men and women of the Air Force and what they do for the country,” he said.
The minister said the incident had underscored the need for closer cooperation between civil and military aviation authorities, noting that aviation accidents could affect personnel and citizens across both sectors.
“It is one country, one people. When disaster happens, it affects everybody. There were civilians in that air crash and when there’s an air crash in the civil aviation too, there can be military personnel. And so, it is important that we cooperate in the area of safety,” Keyamo said.
He disclosed that he had facilitated communication between the NCAA Director-General and the Chief of Air Staff as part of efforts to establish closer collaboration.
According to him, a joint committee involving the NCAA and NAF would be created to facilitate cooperation on airworthiness, certification, training and other safety measures, while respecting the statutory responsibilities of both institutions.
Keyamo also offered to open relevant civil aviation training opportunities to Air Force personnel.
“There is no reason why we cannot take some names from the Air Force. We have a lot of training we go for, so there is no reason why we cannot,” he said.
He added that the NAF’s specialised expertise could also benefit the civil aviation sector.
“This is a kind of cross-pollination and symbiotic relationship we have decided to build for the safety of the lives of Nigerians,” Keyamo said.
Aneke thanked the minister for the condolence visit and welcomed the proposed partnership, saying both institutions had a shared responsibility to improve aviation safety.
“We have both agreed that we need to move the aviation industry, whether military or civil, to a higher level,” he said.
The Chief of Air Staff said the collaboration would allow civil aviation personnel to contribute to the Air Force’s safety systems, particularly in airworthiness and certification, while NAF personnel would provide expertise to the civil aviation sector where necessary.
“We are serving the same government; we are protecting the same Nigerians. So we are just a blend of each other,” Aneke said.
The partnership is expected to strengthen information sharing, technical cooperation, professional training and safety collaboration between Nigeria’s civil and military aviation authorities.
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