Stories by Chinedu Eze
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is strengthening its regulatory systems as it transits from manual to automated license issuance, a move designed to make the certification process seamless, transparent, and resilient against human interference.
At the heart of this transformation is the implementation of EMPIC, a globally recognised specialised software platform used by premier aviation authorities to manage safety oversight. The system primarily aligns Nigeria’s regulatory framework with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards, ensuring that local certifications carry global relevance.
The initial phase of the Go-Live project focuses specifically on the Personnel Licensing (PEL) and Medical Certification (MED) environments. By digitizing these licences, the NCAA is shifting from a bureaucracy of paperwork to a licensing ecosystem capable of operating at the speed of the industry it oversees.
Speaking during a stakeholder engagement on digital transformation initiative of EMPIC PEL|MED at NCAA’s office in Lagos, the Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Captain , Chris Najomo, stated that as traffic grows, the aviation workforce expands, and global scrutiny intensifies, regulatory systems must evolve accordingly and operate at the speed and intelligence of the industry they oversee.
According to him, the deployment of the EMPIC Licensing and Medical Certification platform is the first phase in the NCAA’s response to this reality, “and it represents the authority’s deliberate shift toward a data driven, intelligent, audit-compliant licensing.”