By Kenneth Jukpor & Oyeniyi Iwakun
Here is the last trench of MMS Plus first quarter rating of transport agencies in the country based on their performance with regards to their core functions. This appraisal covers National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT).
For the grading system: A =90-100%, B+ = 80-89%, B =70-79%, C+ =60-69%, C =50-59%, D =40-49% and E = 30-39%, F = 0-30%. Enjoy it:
National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)
The law establishing NIWA gave it the following statutory roles: – Provide regulation for inland water navigation; – Ensure development of infrastructural facilities for a national inland waterways connectivity with economic centers using the River Ports and nodal points for inter-nodal exchanges; –Ensure the development of indigenous technical and managerial skills to meet the challenges of modern inland waterways transportation. For the purpose of this report each of the core function carries 25points while the other functions carry another 25 points.
Provide regulation for inland water navigation:
In 2017 NIWA received an unfavourable Appeal Court ruling on the tussle between NIWA and the Lagos Waterways Authority (LASWA), over who has the constitutional power to control the waterways in Lagos State.
The Appeal Court in its judgment, which was delivered by Justice Hussein Mukhtar, ruled: “It is hereby held that the Lagos State House of Assembly is competent to make laws in respect of the intra-inland waterways in Lagos State, except the Inter-State waterways declared as International or Inter-State Waterway under item 5 in the 2th Schedule to the National Inland Waterways Act.”
This issue has lingered into 2018 with no room for the agency to attack its core functions. Therefore, the agency’s regulatory functions were impaired. Score = 8/25
– Ensure development of infrastructural facilities for national inland waterways connectivity with economic centers using the River Ports and nodal points for inter-nodal exchanges;
Nothing of note was achieved in this area in the first quarter of 2018, but the agency is expected to make giant strides later this year. Score = 4/25
Ensure the development of indigenous technical and managerial skills to meet the challenges of modern inland waterways transportation:
The Authority hasn’t record any significant training in this aspect apart. Score 3/25
Other functions and powers of the Authority include: – undertake capital and maintenance dredging;
– undertake hydrological and hydrographic surveys:– design ferry routes: – survey, remove, and receive derelicts, wrecks and other obstructions from in land waterways; – operate ferry services within the inland waterways system; – undertake installation and maintenance of lights, buoys and all navigational aids along water channels and banks; etc.
NIWA hasn’t been able to attack some of these responsibilities. Score 5/25
Conclusion:
The biggest news at NIWA in the first quarter of 2018 was the debate over the alleged Senate query over N800 million security vote when NIWA appeared before the Senate to defend its 2018 budget proposal. It’s no encouraging news from NIWA but the second quarter is an opportunity to make significant progress.
Grade F (20%)
Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA)
NAMA is an Air Navigation Service Provider with mandate to manage the Nigerian Airspace to a level consistent with the requirements of the ICAO SARPs and make it rank among the safest in the AFI region indeed, the world over.
Thus the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has the responsibilities to continue to provide safe and functional air navigation services that will meet international standards; to increase Air Traffic Management (ATM) capacity in order to manage the increasing air traffic volume and simultaneously reduce delays, to enhance service quality; To reduce cost for airspace users.
The agency achieved some milestone in the development of manpower with the training of core aviation professionals within the agency.
However the major problem of flight disruptions and cancellations and delays during the harmattan period had remained a lingering one in the industry year in year out. This is at variance with one of its core responsibilities to simultaneously reduce delays and enhance service quality, which nets the agency 4/25.
Also analysts within the industry have complained that the agency collects high fees from the airlines for its services and also in foreign currencies even for flights within the country, while it has failed to provide the highest quality of services for the airlines. This they said remain a huge minus for the regulatory authority as well as NAMA as both have failed to provide a solution to the problem even till date, with NCAA issuing the Weather Minima warning every harmattan period, when there are navigational aids that can take care of the problem once and for all, enabling aircraft to take off and land despite the weather situation. Thus the agency failed in its core responsibility to provide safe and functional air navigation services that will meet international standards thus scoring 4 marks out of 25.
On the issue of increasing Air Traffic Management (ATM) capacity in order to manage the increasing air traffic volume, the agency performed well at least there were no incidences of aircraft colliding in the sky and there was no major aircraft accident or incident in the industry last year. So we score the agency 8/25 in this regard.
In the area of reducing cost for airlines the agency scored poorly as its inability to provide last solutions to issues of delays and cancellations is still costing airlines huge sums of money so we score the agency 4/25, and in the area of to continue to provide equipment that will meet international standards we score the agency 4/25
On this basis we score the agency with 20% in its performance for last year, and it is hoped that NAMA would this year improve in its performance by installing the needed navigational aids and equipment that will further enhance air transportation in the country.
Grade F (20%)
Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology (NITT)
NITT is an institution established by the federal government to transform the transportation sector in Nigeria by providing relevant trainings in order to maintain professionalism in the sector. MMS Plus seeks to x-rays NITT performance in the first quarter of 2018 based on its three major statutory functions with 33 marks allocated to each.
Provide Management Training for Personnel employed in all modes of transport:
This Institute seems to be in oblivion. Nothing has been heard about this role in 2018 although the institute made some efforts to partner with Nigerian Shippers Council and Nigerian Ports Authority in 2017. Those in-charge of the various modes of transport in the country remain highly unskilled and unprofessional. NITT gets 10/33.
Serve as a Transport Intelligence Centre for monitoring transport and logistics systems; the Nigeria transport system remains disastrous, highly unregulated and insecure. Various policies were introduced by Federal government in 2017 like the speed limiting device without any impact because of poor compliance. However, no further development has been observed so far in 2018. NITT gets 5/33
Provide equipment and facilities for the encouragement, promotion and conduct of applied research in all modes of transport; also there was no tangible information in this regards in the first quarter of 2018. NITT scored 4/33 in performance of this function.
Conclusion
NITT is an agency saddled with the arduous task of professionalizing all cadres of players in the nations transport sector but there is no indication that the agency is fulfilling this mandate. The institute seems to be retrogressing day-by-day even as operators prefer to get their certification from other private driven institutes. 20% is poor by all standards, so the institute needs rebranding.
Grade F (20%)
Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB)
The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) is charged with the responsibility of investigating any civil aircraft accident and serious incident arising out of, or in the course of air navigation and occurring either in or over Nigeria, or occurring to Nigerian aircraft elsewhere.
The fundamental objective of AIB is to improve aviation safety by determining the circumstances and causes of air accidents and serious incidents, and providing safety recommendations intended to prevent recurrence of similar accidents.
AIB seems to perform fairly in respect to this function in the first quarter of 2018 as it was able sum up findings of accidents and incidents reports in the sector that had been pending for some years including the final report of the Associated Air plane crash that carried the corpse of late governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu among five other final accident and serious incident reports that occurred in the Nigeria aviation industry between 2009 and 2014.
Among the six reports released were two accidents and four serious incidents. The report on the Associated aircraft crash of October 3, 2013 with the registration number, 5N-BJY cited as its causal factor. So MMS scores the agency 18/50.
To avoid future recurrence, four safety recommendations on the associated crash, were made and directed at NCAA including improved safety oversight on the affected carrier to ensure staff welfare issues, and prompt settlement of remunerations and the establishment of Confidential Voluntary Reporting System, which must be implemented in line with the State Safety Programme.
It then means that AIB during the period in question released a substantial percentage of the pending accident reports backed up with safety recommendations that will improve the safety of air navigation in Nigeria.
AIB hosted a meeting of the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA) on a four-day aircraft accident/incident report writing course slated for January 16-19, 2018. The training was an offshoot of the second meeting of the BAGAIA Commission, which was held between December 13 to 15, 2017 in Praia, Cape Verde, where the Commissioner of AIB, Akin Olateru proposed to the BAGAIA Commission to host the Air Accident/Serious Incident Report Writing Training. The proposal was a way to ensure that AIB’s safety investigators benefit greatly. Nigeria, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are members of the BAGAIA accord group.
20 of AIB’s safety investigators were part of the training. This is viewed as part of capacity building.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Presidential Air Fleet, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigeria Air Force were also invited to be part of the training as such institutions also investigate its own incidents/accidents. This is an indication of cooperative and collaborative initiative of the AIB management in ensuring that sisters/related agencies are not left behind in the numerous capacity development programmes of AIB.
In this regard, we score the agency 18/50.
Total score= 36
Grade F (36%)
Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT)
The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) is to train aviation professionals.
In the first quarter of 2018 the agency didn’t do much in terms of meeting up with this obligation. However, there are ongoing plans to admit more trainees in 2018 as the entrance examination
Total score 32
Grade = E (32%)
Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA)
NAMA has the responsibilities to manage the Nigerian Airspace to a level consistent with the requirements of the ICAO SARPs and make it rank among the safest in the AFI region indeed, the world over and also to provide safe and functional air navigation services that will meet international standards; to increase Air Traffic Management (ATM) capacity in order to manage the increasing air traffic volume and simultaneously reduce delays, to enhance service quality; To reduce cost for airspace users.
The agency hasn’t achieved any major milestone in the development of manpower ditto training of core aviation professionals within the period under review.
However the major problem of flight disruptions and cancellations and delays remained a lingering challenge in the industry. This contrasts with one of its core responsibilities to simultaneously reduce delays and enhance service quality.
Score= 4/25.
Also, industry analysts have complained about the agency’s high fees from the airlines for its services and also in foreign currencies even for flights within the country, while it has failed to provide the highest quality of services for the airlines. This still remain a huge minus for the regulatory authority as well as NAMA as both have failed to provide a solution to the problem. Thus the agency failed in its core responsibility to provide safe and functional air navigation services that will meet international standards.
Score = 3/25.
On the increase of Air Traffic Management (ATM) capacity in order to manage the increasing air traffic volume, NAMA performed fairly as there were n incidences of aircraft colliding in the sky and there was no major aircraft accident or incident in the industry.
Score =7/25 in this regard.
The agency scored poorly in the area of reducing cost for airlines as its inability to provide sustainable solutions to issues of delays and cancellations still costs airlines huge sums of money.
Score = 3/25,
In the area of continuous provision of equipments that will meet international standards NAMA is scored 2/25.
On this basis we score the agency with 20% in its performance for last year, and it is hoped that NAMA would this year improve in its performance by installing the needed navigational aids and equipment that will further enhance air transportation in the country.
Total score =19
Grade F (19%)
It is appalling that the nation’s budget for 2018 is yet to be approved by the Senate, let alone disbursed. This fact alone makes it difficult for agencies to carry out their functions. However, the imminent approval and disbursement of funds eliminate the excuse for transport sector agencies in the second and third quarters.
