The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has asked the House of Representatives to restore its original 65 per cent share of the 5 per cent Ticket Sales Charge, TSC, and Cargo Sales Charge, CSC.

The Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, made the demand on Thursday at a public hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation on the proposed review of the allocation of the TSC and CSC.

Najomo said every aviation agency should be adequately funded to discharge its statutory responsibilities. However, he argued that if additional support is required for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, it should come from optimising NAMA’s commercial revenue streams first.

He said NAMA should also improve operational efficiency and corporate governance, and where necessary seek targeted government support for strategic capital infrastructure, in line with ICAO policy and international best practice.

“It is on this note that the NCAA respectfully requests that this honourable committee champion the return to the original vision that drove the establishment of the NCAA and NAMA in 1999,” he said.

“We submit that NCAA’s allocation of the 5% TSC be restored to 65% to overcome the deficiencies identified by ICAO at its last audit, and bring Nigeria in line with global best funding practices.”

The DG explained that the NCAA remains heavily dependent on the TSC for its operations, whereas NAMA already derives the greater proportion of its income from commercial charges levied on aircraft operators.

He added that in addition to Federal Government funding, NAMA also accesses BASA funds for infrastructure, a source not available to the NCAA.

According to him, NAMA has no fewer than 16 commercial revenue streams established by law. These include over-flight and en-route charges, terminal navigation charges, airspace violation fines, calibration fees, and sales or leases of landed properties.

Others are charges on Class B messages, sale of aeronautical information, rentage of property, obstacle evaluation fees, telecommunications services, and provision of air traffic services at private and state aerodromes.

The list also covers hajj operations, cartographic survey charges, aerial operations charges, and consultancy services.

Najomo said these are precisely the types of commercial revenue mechanisms that ICAO envisages for Air Navigation Service Providers.

He cited available financial information showing that NAMA’s commercial and operational activities account for approximately 75% of its total revenue, while the TSC contributes only about 25%.

In contrast, the TSC accounts for about 80% of NCAA’s revenue.

The DG stressed that any review of Nigeria’s aviation funding framework must be consistent with ICAO policy, international best practice, and Nigeria’s obligations under the Chicago Convention.

“Aviation safety is not sustained by legislation alone. It depends upon competent inspectors, effective surveillance, continuous certification, recurrent technical training, international cooperation and an independent regulator possessing the financial capacity to discharge its statutory mandate without compromise,” he said.

He added that the proposal before the committee should be viewed not just as a redistribution of revenue, but in terms of its impact on Nigeria’s ability to sustain an effective State Safety Oversight System.

Najomo recalled that the TSC and CSC mechanism was established based on ICAO’s policy that the cost of safety regulation should be borne by the aviation community.

He noted that beyond domestic duties, the NCAA also funds Nigeria’s mandatory contributions to ICAO, BAGASOO and AFCAC.

He cited ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme, USOAP, Protocol Question 2.051, which assesses whether a state has a mechanism to ensure its safety authority has sufficient financial resources.

“Accordingly, the NCAA’s funding supports not only domestic regulatory oversight but also Nigeria’s continued compliance with its international obligations,” he said.

While commending Nigeria’s 91.3% Effective Implementation score in the last ICAO audit, Najomo said the country recorded its lowest score of 50% in financial resources supporting the State Safety Oversight System.

“ICAO has identified the adequacy or lack thereof of financial resources available to Nigeria’s safety oversight authority as an area requiring improvement,” he said.

He concluded that reducing the authority’s principal statutory source of funding at this time would amount to legislating against the very deficiency that ICAO has asked Nigeria to correct.

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