Nigeria failed in aviation safety audit, even at 70% rating — NCAT rector

The Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Alkali Modibbo, has said that Nigeria failed the just-concluded International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety audit, even with its 70% rating. Modibbo disclosed this in an interview with BusinessDay on Sunday. He said that the 70% rating was not a pass mark by ICAO and aviation standards, as the minimum pass mark was 75%. Modibbo said that the audit was not a witch hunt, but was meant to help Nigeria put things right in its aviation sector. He said that the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation were happy with the 70% rating, as most of the problems identified by ICAO were implementation issues. Modibbo said that NCAT was committed to helping Nigeria improve its aviation safety rating and to achieving the ICAO minimum pass mark of 75%. The ICAO safety audit is a comprehensive assessment of a country's aviation safety system. The audit covers all aspects of aviation safety, including aircraft maintenance, pilot training, and air traffic control. A country that passes the ICAO safety audit is considered to have a safe aviation system. Nigeria's 70% rating in the just-concluded ICAO safety audit is a significant improvement from its previous rating of 58%. However, Nigeria still needs to improve its aviation safety rating to achieve the ICAO minimum pass mark of 75%. The Nigerian government has said that it is committed to improving its aviation safety rating and that it is working with ICAO to implement the recommendations of the audit.