The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has received safety strategies to enhance its airpower operations in the protection of the territorial integrity of the country.
This followed its resolve to continually review and evaluate key safety strategies affecting NAF operations while ensuring the service remained a credible reference point for maintenance of high safety standards.
A statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Edward Gankwet, stated that it was at the forefront of discussions at the just concluded 2021 NAF Safety Review Board (SRB) meeting.
According to him, the meeting, which was held at NAF Headquarters Abuja, afforded the service the opportunity to take stock and appraise its safety practices and procedures for enhanced operational effectiveness and efficiency.
In his remarks, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, noted that as a highly technical service operating sophisticated aircraft, equipment and military hardware, flight safety should be inherent in all NAF daily activities.
He said the meeting focused on the steps taken by various NAF units toward addressing safety issues highlighted by the standing NAF Safety Audit Committee to chart a way forward in maintaining high safety standards in aircraft operations.
Amao, however, expressed optimism that the meeting would go a long way in serving as a veritable platform for addressing all safety concerns so as to proffer realistic and lasting solutions to flight safety issues.
According to CAS, the overall essence of the meeting was geared toward making NAF a safer, more effective and efficient instrument of national power.
Amao, however, commended all NAF personnel for maintaining high safety standards, enjoining members of the SRB to explore ways of ensuring the sustenance of high safety standards in the conduct of all NAF air operations.
Earlier, the Chief of Standards and Evaluation (COSE), AVM Olusegun Philip, stated that the SRB, as the designated safety management body, was primarily tasked with appropriating safety policies and guidelines for the entrenchment of safety culture in the NAF.
He also noted that about 100 NAF personnel had so far undergone various safety courses within and outside the country in the last six months.
“Also, efforts were on to collaborate with the U.S. Air Force to organise an in-country safety management training for more NAF personnel before the end of 2021.
“Meanwhile, training activities at NAF Institute of Safety which were hitherto suspended following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic will soon resume with new courses to broaden the scope of safety education in NAF.”
He , therefore, urged members of the board to continue to support all safety activities across the entire NAF strata through effective monitoring and evaluation.(NAN)
