* Capt Ibrahim Mshelia
…Commends Minister For For Taking Bold Steps To Address Aviation Matters
Nigeria and Nigerians continue to chart the way forward for the Nigerian aviation industry, the Chief Executive Officer of West Link , Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia has said that the National Assembly should not only legislate the right salaries structure that will make NCAA attractive for professionals but that it should also enact laws that will place the body in its rightful position as the regulator of the industry.
He said this while speaking on the Nigerian aviation in a zoom meeting with select journalists at the weekend
The professional pilot said that the reasons professionals are reluctant to take up appointments at NCAA is because of its unattractive salary structure which is not attractive enough to attract professionals into the organisation.
The pilot turned politician, commended the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo for starting well and taking bold steps to address issues in the sector.
The Westl Link boss posited that the stakeholders meeting at the weekend is the right step in the right direction, as the forum afforded stakeholders the opportunity to tell the Minister what is wrong with the aviation sector.
He said that the Minister should first and foremost instill confidence in the NCAA and allow the organisation to operate as the regulator of the industry.
The CEO of West Link said that once that is done airlines will do the right thing and operate within the law because they are afraid that if they don’t the NCAA will grounded them and that will lead to loss of revenue..
To buttress his point Mshelia said that nobody for example should start anything on the Abuja runway until gives the go ahead to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria(FAAN)
Mshelia argued that for the NCAA to take its rightful place as the industry regulator, it must send a bill containing the salary structure which it would submit to the National Assembly who will in turn pass it into law.
According to him, “The legislators at the National Assembly have agreed to look at all the issues raised at the stakeholders meeting. They should legislate the right salaries and people will troop into the NCAA.”
On the shortage of manpower and the fact that people are not keen at working with NCAA, inspection of aircraft by NCAA inspectors, Mshelia suggested that the regulatory body should do designated inspectors, which according to him is been practiced by the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) and aviation bodies, wondering why Nigeria has not tried it out.
He said that as a professional pilot with many years of experience he would be willing to be designated to inspect any company by the NCAA and submit the report to them, adding that apart from him other pilots who are willing to be designated.
This process, he said, creates a stop gap for Nigeria while the NCAA looks for people to be permanent staff.
“They should allow the NCAA to introduce designated inspectors, Examiners, Holders, adding that these people don’t have to be staff of the NCAA,” he said.
The NCAA, he said, can continue with this practice, saying that it is in order.
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