The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), has said Nigeria will continue to prioritise aviation security and safety as critical factors to grow the industry.
Buhari also said Nigeria’s participation in the open sky agreements has attracted huge Investments into the aviation sector.
The President stated this on Monday in Abuja at the 14th ICAO Air Services Negotiation event.
“Nigeria continues to champion the cause of aviation safety, security and facilitation throughout the Continent with our ongoing support on the comprehensive regional implementation plan for Aviation Security and the Human Resources Development Fund plans”
President Buhari who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari further said Nigeria’s focus on leveraging public-private partnerships, is also yielding results.
“Nigeria has adopted a Civil Aviation Policy cantered on liberalization and Public Private Partnership initiatives. This has resulted in significant growth of the industry, including huge investments in the Nation’s Airports which have increased our airports’ capacities and growth of the domestic airline industry,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, reiterated that the Nigerian aviation sector is still one of the fastest growing sectors and impacting new jobs.
On his part, the Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Capt. Musa Nuhu, said the ICAO events are a unique opportunity to share experiences.
“Since the establishment of this unique global negotiation event by ICAO in 2008, ICAN events have provided participating States with a central congregating point to conduct bilateral, regional or multilateral air services negotiations that result in Air Services Agreements between Member States.”
Nuhu also said it provides a global stage for networking opportunities for policymakers, regulators, service providers and other industry stakeholders.