The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has asked the National Assembly to increase its share of the statutory five per cent aviation revenue pool from the current 22 per cent to 56 per cent, warning that the rising cost of maintaining safety-critical infrastructure is putting increasing pressure on the country’s air navigation system.
Managing Director of NAMA, Engr. Farouk Ahmed Umar, made the demand on Thursday at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, saying the existing revenue-sharing formula no longer reflects the scale of the agency’s statutory responsibilities or the financial burden of keeping Nigeria’s airspace safe.
At the same hearing, the African Aviation and Aerospace University (AAAU), Abuja, asked the National Assembly to include it as a statutory beneficiary of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and allocate not less than 10 per cent of the revenue to the institution for aviation manpower development, research and innovation.
Umar told the lawmakers that the safety of the aviation sector depends on strong and adequately funded institutions, stressing that the regulator must be strong, meteorological services dependable, accident and incident investigation independent and aviation training excellent.
He, however, said it was equally important for the law regulating the sector to recognise, in practical and sustainable terms, the enormous responsibility placed on NAMA as Nigeria’s sole Air Navigation Service Provider.
According to him, NAMA currently receives only 22 per cent of the five per cent statutory revenue pool despite carrying a substantial portion of the operational responsibilities required for safe flight operations across the country.
He therefore asked the National Assembly to increase NAMA’s allocation to 56 per cent of the available pool, stressing that the proposal would not increase the existing five per cent charge but would ensure a more sustainable allocation of the available revenue to the agency responsible for critical air navigation infrastructure.
Umar said NAMA’s responsibilities begin long before passengers board an aircraft and continue throughout every stage of flight operations.
“Long before a passenger boards an aircraft, NAMA’s personnel and systems are already at work. A flight plan must be processed, aeronautical information must be current. Radios must be clear. Navigation aids must be serviceable. Surveillance must be available. Controllers must be at their positions. Engineers must be ready to respond. Power and backup power must hold.
“When the aircraft takes off, all these elements must come together, not later that day, not after a supplementary release, but at that very moment.
“That is the nature of air navigation services. They are continuous, technology-intensive and unforgiving of delay. A broken office printer can wait until morning. A degraded safety-critical communication link cannot. A postponed meeting may be inconvenient. Deferred radar support, navigation-aid calibration or controller trainning can reduce the resilience of the national system,” he said.
The NAMA boss told the Committee that the cost of keeping Nigerian airspace safe had outgrown the existing funding formula, pointing out that the agency recorded a total cost profile exceeding ₦43 billion in 2023.
According to him, the expenditure included approximately ₦21 billion in personnel costs, more than ₦12 billion in capital expenditure and over ₦10 billion in overheads.
“These are not abstract numbers. Behind them are controllers, engineers, communication systems, navigation aids, surveillance platforms, power systems, spares, software, calibration, training and facilities spread across our country.
“At the same time, a navigation charge as low as ₦11,000 per flight had remained unchanged since June 2008.
“Consider what has happened to the cost of fuel, electricity, foreign exchange, imported components, software licences and specialist training since 2008. The service has had to absorb today’s costs with yesterday’s tariff base.
“The dedication of our workforce has helped bridge that gap, but dedication is not a substitute for a sustainable funding system,” Umar said.
He also raised concerns over the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) system, saying the ageing surveillance infrastructure now requires a deliberate renewal and transition programme.
According to him, as equipment ages, spare parts become increasingly difficult to obtain while manufacturers’ support changes, making sustained investment in replacement and modernisation imperative.
Umar said the global aviation system was also becoming increasingly digital, interconnected and exposed to cyber risks, requiring greater investment in performance-based navigation, digital aeronautical information, satellite-enabled surveillance and integrated flight-data systems.
He said such technologies promised improved capacity and efficiency but required substantial investment in equipment, data quality, specialised skills and cybersecurity.
The NAMA managing director also asked the National Assembly to recognise obstacle assessment and WGS-84 aeronautical surveys as chargeable technical services performed by the agency.
He said NAMA was the only federal aviation agency that connected WGS-84 survey data, obstacle analysis, aeronautical information, procedure design and operational management of airspace within one technical chain.
Umar maintained that while the regulatory component of Aviation Height Clearance should remain with the appropriate regulator, NAMA should be directly paid for technical services involving WGS-84 survey validation, obstacle assessment, procedure-impact analysis and field work.
He further argued that adequately funding NAMA would produce benefits extending beyond the agency to airlines, airports, passengers, trade, tourism and national security.
“An aircraft that moves safely and efficiently through Nigerian airspace is an economic activity enabled by invisible infrastructure. NAMA is not asking the National Assembly for a blank cheque. NAMA supports accountability equal to the responsibility we seek,” he said.
Umar pledged NAMA’s support for automated collection and remittance of revenues, quarterly disclosure of receipts and projects, annual independent audits, transparent procurement and measurable performance indicators.
“We are prepared to report what was received, what it purchased, which milestone was achieved and what improvement the user obtained,” he said.
The NAMA boss also urged the National Assembly to harmonise existing aviation laws, pointing out that while the Civil Aviation Act currently provides a 22 per cent allocation to NAMA, the NAMA Act refers to 23 per cent in its Fund provisions.
“The law should speak with one voice. The beneficiaries should be named correctly; the percentages should total 100 per cent; collection and remittance responsibilities should be unambiguous; and the effective date should be clear,” he said.
Umar acknowledged that reallocating the statutory revenue pool would raise legitimate concerns among other aviation agencies, but argued that the final formula should be determined by audited costs, statutory mandates and risks rather than preserving historical percentages.
“A regulator and an Air Navigation Service Provider are both indispensable, but their cost structures are not identical. The law should recognise those differences while ensuring that every safety institution remains viable,” he said.
Making his final appeal, Umar asked the lawmakers to appreciate the critical infrastructure and personnel behind the management of Nigeria’s airspace.
“When a pilot calls an air traffic controller over Nigerian airspace, that voice is more than a radio transmission. It is the sound of a national safety system working.
“Behind it are years of training, towers and centres, antennas and links, radar and navigation aids, engineers and procedures, generators and batteries, software and vigilance. The country expects that voice to be clear, confident and continuously available.
“I respectfully pray the National Assembly to approve a 56 per cent allocation to NAMA from the existing five per cent pool; harmonise the affected enactments; recognise obstacle assessment and WGS-84 aeronautical survey as chargeable NAMA technical services; establish transparent, automated remittance; and pair the enhanced allocation with firm accountability and oversight.
“Give us the means and hold us to the result. Give Nigerian airspace the resilience it requires and require us to demonstrate that resilience. In doing so, this National Assembly will not simply amend a percentage. It will strengthen the safety, efficiency, sovereignty and future competitiveness of our nation’s airspace,” Umar said.
Meanwhile, the African Aviation and Aerospace University, Abuja, asked the National Assembly to recognise aviation manpower development as a critical component of the industry deserving statutory funding.
Presenting the university’s position paper, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Mustapha Abdullahi said that AAAU occupies a unique position in Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem as the country’s specialised federal university dedicated to aviation, aerospace and allied disciplines.
The institution said it was established specifically to develop the highly skilled manpower required to sustain Nigeria’s aviation industry and should therefore be recognised as a statutory beneficiary of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
According to the university, the proposed amendments to the aviation laws provide an opportunity to ensure that funding within the sector is aligned not only with immediate operational responsibilities but also with the long-term sustainability of aviation manpower development.
AAAU argued that aviation safety ultimately depends on competent professionals, including air traffic managers, aeronautical engineers, aviation managers, safety specialists, meteorologists, airspace planners, aerospace scientists, airport managers and environmental specialists.
