Abuja, Nigeria — The former General Manager, Corporate Affairs of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Yakubu Dati, has expressed serious concern over the growing rivalry and lack of coordination among key aviation agencies, warning that the situation could undermine air safety, efficiency, and regulatory integrity within the sector.

Dati, a respected aviation communication expert and industry stakeholder, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking with journalists in Abuja. He said that inter-agency competition, overlapping functions, and communication breakdowns have become major challenges in Nigeria’s aviation management system.

“Rivalry Undermines Safety and Coordination”

Mr. Dati cautioned that unless urgent steps are taken to foster collaboration among aviation bodies such as FAAN, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the nation’s air safety framework could face increasing risks.

“The unhealthy competition and power tussle among key aviation agencies are counterproductive. It creates confusion, duplication of duties, and weakens institutional efficiency,” he said.
“Aviation is a highly coordinated industry. Safety depends on synergy — not rivalry. Once agencies begin to see each other as competitors rather than partners, safety and service delivery are compromised.”

He stressed that aviation authorities worldwide operate through harmonized systems where all stakeholders — from regulators to service providers — work under a unified operational framework to ensure safety, efficiency, and reliability.

Call for Unified Leadership in the Aviation Sector

Dati emphasized the need for strong leadership and policy alignment under the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, noting that the sector’s complexity demands central coordination, especially in critical areas like airport operations, air traffic control, and meteorological data management.

“We need unified direction from the supervising ministry. The agencies should not be working at cross-purposes,” he advised.
“The Minister of Aviation must strengthen inter-agency coordination mechanisms to eliminate overlaps and enforce accountability across all parastatals.”

He pointed out that past reforms, such as the Aviation Sector Roadmap initiated in 2016, had called for clearer delineation of functions and improved collaboration between agencies, but implementation has been slow.

Impact on Air Safety and Passenger Experience

According to Dati, the consequences of inter-agency rivalry extend beyond bureaucratic inefficiency — they also have direct implications for air safety and passenger experience.

“When agencies fail to share data or coordinate operations properly, it affects everything — from aircraft handling to airspace control and emergency response,” he said.
“This can lead to flight delays, conflicting instructions, and even potential safety hazards if not checked.”

He added that aviation safety is built on real-time information sharing among all relevant stakeholders, including FAAN (which manages airports), NAMA (which controls airspace and navigation), and NiMet (which provides weather data).
Lack of coordination, he warned, could result in operational lapses with serious national and international consequences.

Lessons from International Best Practices

The former FAAN spokesperson cited examples from countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, where civil aviation authorities operate through integrated platforms that facilitate constant communication between regulatory and service agencies.

“In advanced aviation systems, agencies don’t compete for relevance — they complement one another. Nigeria must move in that direction,” Dati said.
“The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expects each member state to ensure institutional synergy as a key part of its safety oversight responsibilities.”

He also advised the Nigerian government to strengthen the National Civil Aviation Policy and ensure that inter-agency protocols are strictly enforced, adding that effective coordination could help the country meet international audit standards such as the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).

Stakeholders Echo the Concern

Aviation experts and industry observers have also echoed Dati’s warning, describing inter-agency rivalry as a “recurring problem” that continues to undermine operational efficiency.

An aviation analyst, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), noted that past attempts to reform the governance structure of the sector often failed because of institutional ego and political interference.

“We’ve seen instances where agencies issue conflicting directives or delay operational approvals. That kind of rivalry doesn’t happen in well-organized aviation systems,” Ojikutu said.
“If Nigeria wants to achieve full Category 1 FAA status and maintain international confidence, synergy among agencies is non-negotiable.”

Similarly, an airline operator who spoke on condition of anonymity described the rivalry as a major bottleneck for private sector efficiency.

“We sometimes face double inspections and inconsistent billing because agencies don’t coordinate. This drives up costs and affects passengers indirectly,” the operator said.

Need for a Joint Operations and Communication Framework

To resolve the challenges, Dati proposed the establishment of a Joint Aviation Operations and Coordination Framework, similar to models used in the European Union and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system.

He suggested that the framework should include:

• A central coordination unit to streamline operations among all agencies;
• Regular inter-agency meetings and data-sharing protocols;
• A unified emergency response and safety management system; and
• Periodic joint audits supervised by the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

“With one coordinated platform, duplication of duties will end, and every agency can focus on its core mandate,” Dati noted.

Government’s Response and the Way Forward

Efforts to get a formal response from the Ministry of Aviation were ongoing at the time of filing this report, but senior officials confirmed that the Minister, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has already initiated discussions on restructuring communication lines among aviation agencies.

A ministry source who requested anonymity said:

“The Minister is aware of these issues. There’s already a task team reviewing inter-agency cooperation and operational overlap. The goal is to enhance safety and service delivery.”

The source added that the Ministry is working closely with the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and NCAA to ensure that safety remains the core priority across all policy and operational decisions.

Conclusion

Former FAAN spokesperson Yakubu Dati has raised a crucial alarm over the dangers of rivalry and poor coordination among Nigeria’s aviation agencies, describing it as a serious threat to air safety, operational efficiency, and Nigeria’s international aviation reputation.

His call for unified leadership, stronger communication, and institutional reform aligns with global best practices that prioritize safety through cooperation rather than competition.

As Nigeria continues to expand its aviation infrastructure and attract foreign investment in the sector, experts agree that ending inter-agency rivalry is not just desirable — it is essential for the safety of passengers, the growth of the industry, and the country’s compliance with international aviation standards.