Political interference bane of non-implementation of AIB recommendations- Stakeholders

Players in the Nigerian aviation industry have identified political interference in the running of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) as one of the major reasons its safety recommendations are not in the public domain.

Participants at the quarterly business breakfast meeting held by the Aviation Safety Round Table in Lagos with the theme: “Advantages of implementing AIB recommendations,” also said that it is pertinent for AIB and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to synergize for the growth of the industry in Nigeria.

Pioneer Commissioner of AIB, Dr. Sam Oduselu, in his presentation, said that said that the ministry of aviation in most cases refuses to allow the safety recommendations of AIB to get to the public domain.

He explained that at times, such safety recommendations would be at the ministry for about three years without implementation, which makes implementation of such recommendations almost impossible.

Oduselu declared that as an autonomous agency, the AIB should not be responsible to the ministry, but rather to the President and the National Assembly.

He also said that rather than work in isolation, the AIB should collaborate with the NCAA to bring out safety recommendations to the public, which he said would further boost implementation of safety recommendations.

He said: “The stereotype is that investigators are compromised, but I believe investigators can’t be compromised anymore in this country. If you give autonomy, the autonomy must be allowed to work. We usually sit down together with NCAA to have recommendations.

“The unfortunate thing is that reports are written, but they are never in the public domain. The safety recommendations of AIB were written and ended up in the ministry. That is why it is necessary for AIB as autonomous body to go beyond the ministry.”

Besides, a former Director-General, NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, observed that there is stiff competition between agencies in Nigeria, including the AIB and NCAA.

He explained that the Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) only gave the AIB the power to investigate the cause of an incident or accident, make recommendations, but not to force implementation.

Demuren emphasised that the regulator must evaluate the safety recommendations of the AIB, using the risk-base approach, which include cost and time of implementation.

“It is not about the amount of recommendations that matter, but the quality of such recommendations. When you make such recommendations, you should be able to look at the cost and risk of recommendations,” he said.

But, the AIB Commissioner, Akin Olateru, in his presentation however, differed with some of the positions of the participants at the event.

Olateru, who was represented by the General Manager, Public Affairs AIB, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi insisted that the NCAA and AIB cannot sit down together to come out with safety recommendations in case of an incident or accident.

Olateru declared that in case of an incident or accident, everyone including the NCAA is a suspect.