By Chuks Okoh
The Nigerian Air Force has pledged to strengthen existing cordial and harmonious relationship with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA) in the overall safety and security of the nation’s airspace.
The Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshal Olutayo Oguntoyinbo who stated this when he led a high-powered delegation on a courtesy visit to NAMA headquarters, Lagos noted that as a dependable ally, NAMA has always collaborated with the NAF in the area of strategic airspace management, training of Air Force personnel on air traffic control and airspace surveillance.
Air Vice Marshal Oguntoyinbo also stated that ‘’the professional and technical expertise provided by NAMA in Air Force training and operations have been outstanding and invaluable’’, adding that their visit was therefore ‘’to build on this existing synergy between the two organizations in view of the numerous benefits accruing to the nation in terms of safety and security of the airspace’’.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of NAMA, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam noted that “the relationship between NAF and NAMA needs to be continually improved upon since both organizations play complimentary roles in ensuring a safe, secure, effective airspace” for Nigeria, stressing that ‘’NAMA would always provide the needed capacity and expertise to the Nigerian Air Force whenever the need arises’’.
Meanwhile, 59 Air Traffic Controllers have scaled through the professional rating by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) after undergoing trainings in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt airports. Engr. Abdulsalam gave kudos to the controllers for their excellence and also tasked them to ‘’deploy this wealth of experience towards enriching the capacity of airspace operations in the country’’.
The newly rated Air Traffic Controllers had their on-the-job training in Aerodrome, Approach Procedural, Area Airways Procedural, Approach Surveillance and Area Control Surveillance.
The Managing Director remarked that “it is believed that this latest development will further boost capacity of the agency in the critical area of operations and also enhance technical capacity of the agency”.