The Federal Government has officially adopted the Cape Town Convention (CTC) Practice, aimed at lowering operational costs for airlines in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
On Thursday, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, signed the CTC Practice Direction during a stakeholders’ meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
With this signing, the Cape Town Convention is now fully operational in Nigeria, which is expected to reduce insurance costs for airlines, boost investor confidence in the aviation sector, and facilitate domestic airlines’ ability to dry lease aircraft, among other benefits.
This development aligns with the Federal Government’s recent clarification that no Nigerian airline has been banned by the United States Government.
The acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo, explained that Nigeria achieved Category One status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program in 2010, and was re-evaluated in 2014 and 2017, passing both times. However, in 2022, Nigeria was de-listed due to an inability to meet certain permit requirements.
Najomo emphasized that the de-listing was unrelated to any safety or security shortcomings within Nigeria’s aviation oversight system. The country has successfully passed comprehensive safety and security audits conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) without recording any Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) or Significant Security Concerns (SSeC).
He also noted that Nigerian operators can still fly to the U.S. using wet-leased aircraft from countries with current Category One status. Najomo reaffirmed the NCAA’s commitment to adhering to international safety and security standards while respecting the sovereignty of other nations, including the United States, as outlined in Article One of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.