The management of the International Aviation College (IAC), Ilorin has said that there is the need for adequate funding of the college to forestall a situation in which the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would shut it down.
The acting registrar of the school, Capt. Yakubu Okatahi, stated this when the Kwara State governor, Mr. AbdulRahman Abdulrasaq paid an official visit to the college where he decorated five students who completed their commercial and private pilot licence courses.
He appealed to the governor to come to the aid of the college to enable it remain in operation.
The acting rector, however, commended the governor for the regular subvention to the college which, according to him, has enabled the school to continue to operate.
He said the recent release of N75 million enabled the college to purchase a new aircraft engine and propeller, jet-A1 as well as repair the institution’s fuel dump, among others.
Nevertheless, the rector appealed to the governor to increase funding of the college to enable it meet all the requirements stipulated by the regulatory authority.
Okatahi revealed that the present Management inherited 55 students when it came on board in March, 2022 adding that said 27 of them had so far graduated.
He assured the governor that the management would not disappoint the state government for the trust and confidence reposed in it.
In his remarks, the registrar of the college, Mr. Mohammed Jibril congratulated the governor on his re-election for second term and pleaded with him to review upward the college’s monthly subvention to enable it implement its salary structure for its staff as obtained in a sister institution like the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
Responding, Abdulrasaq asked the management to document all its requests and send to his office.
He advised the management to avoid a repeat of the mismanagement which stalled the progress of the institution and forced the withdrawal of the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Navy from the college.
“With effective management, I believe the college can attain autonomy and self-sufficiency in terms of funding. Our aim for the school is to achieve this, instead of relying on subvention from the government,” he said.
