The African Students Union Parliament (ASUP) has honoured the director general, Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Mr. Akin Olateru with ‘The Icon of Aviation Sector Development’ award,
Spokesman for the agency, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, said in a release that the award was presented to the NSIB chief by a team of ASUP led by Mr. Etongo Franscine of the University du Kwaikale 1, Younde, Cameroon, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria recently.
He said Olateru was honoured with the award in recognition of his remarkable achievements in the conduct of quality investigation of aircraft accidents and incidents and timely release of reports.
According to Franscine, NSIB under Olateru’s leadership has witnessed a tremendous success in the area of man power development infrastructures, process and system – engineering, among others.
Receiving the award, the director general expressed gratitude to ASUP for acknowledging his efforts in inter-agency collaboration and partnership with other African countries for a secure airspace on the continent and beyond.
He said the award will encourage the bureau to double efforts to consolidate on the gains it has recorded in fulfilment of its mandate.
He noted that NSIB in its inter-agency collaboration agenda assisted the Republic of Gambia to set up the country’s Accident Investigation Agency, while collaborative efforts “is on going with the Republic of Sierra Leon to also establish an independent air accident investigation agency of the country.”
Explaining the gains the bureau recorded in its technical and strategic assistance in the West African countries further, Olateru said NSIB also assisted Sao Tome and Principe to carry out aircraft accident investigation in the country while it (NSIB) is currently assisting Cameroon in conducting an investigation into one of the fatal air crashes that occurred in that country with the downloading of the black box done in Nigeria.
He announced that the investigation of the occurrence is in its final stage stressing that the NSIB under him has done a lot to help African countries.
NSIB, which recently shed its former name, Accident Investigation Bureau Nigerian (AIB-N), is a multimodal safety investigation agency covering aviation, maritime, rail and any other transport mode.
