In a bid to promote efficiency in firefighting operations, the Nigeria Aviation Fire and Safety Association (NAFSA) has indicated interest to partner the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for the purpose of achieving growth in the Nigerian aviation industry.
The President of NAFSA, Comrade Sunday Ugbeikwu declared this during a courtesy visit to the Director-General Civil Aviation (DGCA), Captain Musa Nuhu in Abuja said.
According to Ugbeikwu, as a professional body with branches across the airports, NAFSA has a role to play in Nation building and their aims and objectives is to uplift and improve the quality of fire service.
While expressing the optimism that the meeting with the NCAA will enhance effective collaboration, familiarisation and good rapport with the regulatory agency, Ugbeikwu declared: “We want to collaborate with NCAA because it is a major agency in the sector. There is no airport that exists anywhere in the world without firefighters. We want to have a strong relationship with every important associations or organizations in the sector.”
He used the opportunity to canvass that NCAA’s aerodrome firefighters be part of the membership of the association, saying that this was within their jurisdiction.
In his own contribution, the Geberal Secretary, NAFSA, Comrade Emmanuel Akinwunmi, emphasized the critical roles firefighters play in sustaining safety of humans and equipment in the industry.
He specifically recalled the role of NAFSA during the ill-fated Sosoliso Flight 1145 and Bellview Flight 210 crashes, which occurred on August 22, 2005 and December 10, 2005, respectively.
Responding, the DGCA, Captain Musa Nuhu, while promising collaboration with NAFSA, applauded the efforts of the current NAFSA leadership in promoting professionalism and collaboration in the sector.
Nuhu who was represented by the Director, Aerodrome and Airspace Standards of the NCAA, Engineer Tayo Odunowo, challenged the NAFSA leadership to seek more collaborations and Memoranda Of Understandings (MoU) with the other relevant authorities in the sector, saying that this would lead to attainment of common goals.
The General Manager, Aerodrome Standards, NCAA, Mr. Adebayo Oladipo, expressed delight with the association for its intent to seek collaboration while the Assistant General Manager, Aerodrome Standards, NCAA, Mr. Adeniyi Ogunba, enjoined the current leadership to push for entrenchment of professionalism among its members
