FG RESHUFFLES NCAA DIRECTORS AMID ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION, SAFETY LAXITY
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Agency report
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has reshuffled critical directors in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), following rumours of serious corrupt practices by key officers of the aviation regulatory agency.
The reshuffle of senior officers may not be unconnected with allegations of inefficiency and compromised oversight in the agency’s “Directorate of Airworthiness Standards.”
This comes as the Nigeria Safety Investigation Board, on December 14 and December 16, 2025, issued reports indicating major aircraft incidents involving unscheduled aircraft.
According to the reports, a Hawker 800XP with eight persons on board “crash-landed at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano,” while a Cessna 172 aircraft also “crashed on approach at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri,” with no casualties on the latter flight.
Speaking to ThisDay newspaper, Keyamo acknowledged awareness of the rumour against the agency, confirming receipt of documents and vowing to “launch an investigation into the allegations” and make the results public.
He expressed concern that “since the documents had been in the public space, concerned authorities had not reacted to the allegations,” adding that as Minister of Aviation, he could not allow anything that would threaten air safety under his watch.
Less than a week later, the reshuffle was effected under the minister’s directive. The Directorate of Airworthiness Standards in the NCAA “ensures civil aircraft are safe and meet high standards,” overseeing certification, maintenance, ongoing compliance with International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, aircraft registration, issuance of Certificates of Airworthiness, approval of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, and development of technical standards to keep aircraft airworthy.
The directorate had been at the center of scrutiny over alleged irregularities, which gained urgency following a series of aircraft incidents investigated by the Nigeria Safety Investigation Board.
On December 14, 2025, a Hawker 800XP aircraft, registered as 5N-ISB, “crash-landed at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with eight persons on board after experiencing a landing gear anomaly.”
Two days later, a Cessna 172 aircraft, 5N-ASR, “crashed on approach to the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri,” with no fatalities. Earlier accidents included the August 1, 2023 crash of a Jabiru J430 aircraft, registered 5N-CCQ, which reportedly occurred shortly after being issued a Special Certificate of Airworthiness, “among several approvals issued without exhaustive technical scrutiny.”
With the reshuffle, Godwin Balang, formerly Director of Aerodromes and Airspace Standards, has been redeployed to head the “Directorate of Airworthiness Standards,” while Alhaji Ahmad Abba, former Director of Special Duties in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, was redeployed to the Directorate of Aerodromes and Airspace Standards to replace Balang.
Balang formally assumed office at his new department on Tuesday at the headquarters of the NCAA in Abuja. A ministry source noted, “The airworthiness department is where safety either stands or collapses. When leadership is changed at that level, it is rarely accidental.”
Tunde Moshood, media aide to the minister, said the reshuffle was “for administrative effectiveness,” emphasizing that “the investigation is still ongoing” and that the move “has nothing to do with the complaints; sometimes you just must do some things.”
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