The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, is broke, and aircraft inspectors are not being paid allowances on time, a report alleged on Monday.
The report quoted an aircraft inspector as saying that safety is compromised because of the inability of the NCAA to pay inspectors their allowances as at when due.
Training has also dwindled in recent time, the inspector said.
The revelation comes less than two weeks after a faulty Associated Airline plane crashed in Lagos, southwestern Nigeria, killing 15 people. It also comes only a day after an IRS plane loaded with 89 passengers was involved in an emergency landing at the Kaduna airport on Sunday. Passengers had to disembark on the runway as firefighters and other emergency teams surrounded the airport.
“Aircraft inspectors’ allowances are not being paid as at when due, leaving us to the open temptations of bribe and compromise from corrupt and desperate airline operators who want their planes to fly at all costs,” the inspector was quoted as saying.
The anonymous source was not allowed to speak to the press.
The report also quoted a source as saying that the NCAA is broke and is struggling to procure its basic needs. This, the source claimed, could seriously affect safety.
“Some of us that are due for training overseas are asked to fund our training and come back for a refund after the training. This is absurd and they keep saying they are broke,” the source said.
Fola Akinkuotu, NCAA Director General and its spokesperson, Fan Ndubuoke, did not answer requests from our reporter. The text messages sent to them were ignored.