The spokesman for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr Michael Achimugu, has reacted to a campaign by some persons to scuttle the confirmation of Capt Chris Najomo as acting director general of the regulatory body to a substantive position.
He alleged that an article purportedly signed by Kolade Hassan and Sy Mohammed, attempted to ridicule the person, character and competence of Najomo whom he described as an “industry icon” who has put in over four decades of “premium service to the industry as one of Nigeria’s best pilots.”
He said the authors of the “poorly written article” alleged that Najomo paid N250 million to purchase an official vehicle without recourse to procurement processes.
“When that plot was blown out of the water, this group resorted to all shades of blackmail, sponsored false narratives, among other tactics just to achieve their selfish aims,” Achimugu said
Achimugu also debunked the claim by the writers that Najomo declared himself as DG-NCAA in a very boastful manner without presidential pronouncement and senate confirmation.
“This allegation is based on a video where Najomo can be heard introducing himself in a meeting with the following words, “My name is Capt. Chris Najomo, director-general, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority,” he said.
Achimugu also took the “blackmailers” on their allegation that Najomo does not care about safety and wondered how anyone could claim that the acting director general who completed the NCAA’s flight data centre would give little of no attention to aviation safety.
“For all of the talk about safety, not a single commercial plane has crashed under Najomo’s leadership. In fact, it was Najomo who suspended Dana Air for poor financial health which was impeding its ability to operate safely. That’s a man who cares about the safety of passengers.
“As for the unfortunate helicopter crash, we will not preempt the NSIB. When their report is released, we will be able to make comments.
“Runway excursions happen globally. It is not a sign of incompetence of any civil aviation authority. Nigeria is not in the top fifteen nations when it comes to air mishaps.
“These so-called elders did not blame the American FAA for the helicopter crash that killed Nigeria’s Hebert Wigwe. They did not blame the FAA for the chopper crash that killed famous basketball star, Kobe Bryant. They didn’t even blame Canadian Authorities when, on December 29, 2024, an Air Canada Flight AC2259 suffered suspected landing gear issues, or the Korean Authorities for the fatal crash of Jeju Air’s flight 2216 after a bird strike, a crash that killed almost 200 people,” he added.
The spokesman also disproved the claim that the NCAA has a target of 224 days for resolving customer complaints, describing it as “a lie from the pit of Hades.
“The longest timeframe for refund of ticket purchases is 14 days as captured in Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023. Under Najomo’s leadership, the Consumer Protection Department of the NCAA has achieved the highest volume of passenger refunds and compensations in its entire history.
“It also had the highest number of stakeholder engagements in the history of the Authority. Capt. Najomo launched a first-of-its-kind consumer complaints portal for seamless resolution of cases, and to ensure accurate collation, storage, and dissemination of data,” he stressed.
On the whole, Achimugu said the confirmation of a director general of NCAA rests only with the minister, the president and the national assembly.
He said Najomo, his management team and staff of the civil aviation regulatory body “are focused on performing their duties to the industry and Nigeria” and “will not be distracted by the antics of a few…whose vitriol can only be considered the last kicks of drowning horses…”
