The federal government has given approval to the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (nahco aviance) to handle shipments with radioactive contents in its facilities at the airports.
Spokesman for the ground handling firm, Mr Tayo Ajakaye said in a statement that the approval was contained in a communiqué issued jointly by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) at the end of their meeting held in Abuja on February 25, 2005.
The report was signed on behalf of the two federal institutions by the assistant general manager (legal), NNRA, Mr. Jamil Salau, for the director-general and chief executive officer of the agency, Dr. Yau Usman Idris.
“By virtue of this approval all importers and exporters of radioactive material previously affected by the closure should contact NAHCO for import and export of radioactive material which was affected by the embargo earlier imposed…,” the communiqué stated.
Commenting on approval, group managing director and chief executive officer of the company, Mr Olumuyiwa Olumekun, thanked the NCAA and NNRA for granting the approval to NAHCO for its facilities to be used to handle materials with radioactive contents.
Olumekun said the company had put in place clear, diligent and thorough processes that would ensure 100 per cent compliance to procedures by highly-trained company professionals as they carry out the specialized functions.
Similarly, the group executive director, commercial and business development, Mr Saheed Lasisi said “it is a good development for importers and exporters who have been having challenges exporting and importing shipments with radioactive contents.”
He added: “NAHCO is solving all these issues for our clients, especially the big international airlines and international oil companies (IOCs) who require the approval granted NAHCO to move critical shipments which have radioactive contents in and out of the country.”
Apart from the authorisation granted NAHCO, other decisions taken were the adoption of NNRA’s implementation plan as a working document, nomination of members to form a technical working group/committee to oversee the MoU implementation within 14 working days and the development of a joint action plan with timelines for key activities.
Other resolutions were the commencement of the joint training programme as stipulated in the MoU, preparation of a schedule for joint emergency preparedness and response (EPR) drills; regular meetings to review progress and address emerging issues and harmonisation of licencing validity and duration.
The meeting also decided to immediately start the establishment of streamlined processes for sharing relevant information and documents.
