The director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman ‎has called on all industry stakeholders to join hands with the regulatory authority to ensure another feat in this year’s International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme, USOAP  Audit.

Speaking at the  commencement of the ICAO USOAP  Audit at the headquarters Annex of the  NCAA on Monday, the director general of the Authority, Capt. Usman‎ stated ‎that the media too has a major role to play in this regard. 

Thankfully you have been our partners all the way and your contributions to the growth of the industry have been noteworthy, he said

Capt.‎ Usman advised that, “in the course of this exercise, let us refrain from speculative reporting and assumptions. Success of this audit is collective success for Nigeria.‎”

 He restated Nigeria’s readiness  for the Audit‎ programme.‎

“As of January, 2013, USOAP CMA had been fully launched and its various tools, mechanisms and guidance materials are constantly reviewed for improvement.
The ICAO USOAP Audit programme is managed and driven by the Safety Oversight Audit (SOA) section of the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau.
Furthermore, an Audit consists of three phases. The Pre-audit phase, On-site phase and Post-audit phase.
At the Pre-audit phase, the information provided by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in the State Aviation Activity Questionnaire (SAAQ), Protocol Questions (PQs), Compliance Checklists (CCs) Electronic Filing of Differences (EFODs) and Corrective Action Plan (CAP) have been reviewed by the Safety Oversight Audit section of ICAO, Usman emphasised.

He explained that an analysis of our safety oversight establishment has been done including a review of the implementation of Annexes’ provisions and the differences from the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) that were identified in the SAAQ and Compliance Checklists.

He explained further that the process allows ICAO to tailor the audit in accordance with the level and complexity of aviation activities in the state, adding that It will now determine the duration of the audit and the required composition of the audit team.

He disclosed that “the Audit is at the On-site phase as we are witnessing today. During this phase, the State is visited by an ICAO Audit team to validate the information provided by Nigeria. ”

The DG noted that the  team will conduct an on-site audit of Nigeria’s system and overall capability for safety oversight.

He said: “This includes an audit of our organisation, processes, procedures and programmes established by NCAA to help it fulfil its safety oversight obligations.
The Post-audit phase encompasses all the activities following the on-site audit. It includes the preparation of the audit interim report, the development by the State of its Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and the completion of the audit final report.

In retrospect, Nigeria scored over 90percent in the counterpart ICAO Security Audit conducted last year. This was an exercise where Nigeria was one of the first countries in the world to go through the Universal Security Audit Programme (USAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA).‎”

He stated further that at the conclusion of the audit, there will be a closing meeting where there will be a debriefing and draft audit result will be presented.

The DG  assured the ICAO team of the unflinching cooperation of everyone particularly Nigerian State counterparts working with them on the assignment.