The Nigeria Airspace Management Agency and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority are embroiled in a quiet dispute over the sharing formula for the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge, raising wider concerns about the future direction of Nigeria’s aviation industry, OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN reports
The proposal before the National Assembly to increase the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s share of the statutory five per cent Ticket Sales Charge has emerged as one of the most contentious issues currently facing Nigeria’s aviation industry.
While labour unions within the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority have said that reducing the regulator’s allocation could weaken safety oversight, various industry experts and supporters of the bill insist that the conversation must also reflect the enormous operational burden carried daily by NAMA.
The controversy centres on a fundamental question: Does the existing funding formula truly reflect the responsibilities and financial demands of the country’s air navigation service provider? An increasing number of aviation professionals believe it does not.
Unlike regulatory agencies focused mainly on certification, inspections and compliance oversight, NAMA is responsible for operating Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure around the clock. Every aircraft flying into, through or out of the country relies on its systems. From the filing of a flight plan to a safe landing, NAMA provides the critical air navigation services that ensure aircraft remain safely guided, connected and separated throughout Nigerian airspace.
Its work is rarely visible to passengers, yet without it, commercial aviation would simply grind to a halt.
Modern air navigation is no longer limited to radio communication between pilots and controllers. It has evolved into a highly sophisticated network of Communication, Navigation and Surveillance, popularly referred to as CNS technologies, that require enormous capital investment and continuous maintenance.
Across Nigeria, NAMA operates Instrument Landing Systems, Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range equipment, Distance Measuring Equipment, radar facilities, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast installations, Very High Frequency communication stations and digital automation systems, many of which are located in remote areas with limited public infrastructure.
In line with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, this navigation equipment requires regular calibration, software upgrades and expensive spare parts. Diesel powers many installations continuously where electricity is unreliable, while technical personnel are deployed across the country, often in challenging terrain, to maintain uninterrupted operations.
Proponents of the bill contend that the aviation industry has evolved significantly since the current revenue-sharing formula was introduced. Advances in satellite navigation, digital communications, cybersecurity, performance-based navigation, remote surveillance and integrated automation have fundamentally reshaped global air traffic management.
Staying abreast of these advancements demands continuous investment running into billions of naira. Delays in replacing outdated systems only widen the technological gap between Nigeria and more advanced aviation markets. Beyond improving efficiency, the priority is ensuring safe, reliable air navigation services in an increasingly complex global aviation landscape.
Unlike office-based agencies, NAMA cannot halt operations due to funding shortages. Air traffic controllers, engineers and communications specialists provide round-the-clock services, ensuring uninterrupted air navigation regardless of traffic volume. Since aircraft cannot operate without these essential services, supporters of the proposed funding review argue that the agency’s continuous operational demands justify a reassessment of its funding.
Commenting on the issue, retired pilot and aviation stakeholder Mohammed Badamosi said the debate should start with a realistic evaluation of each agency’s role within the aviation sector. He noted that NAMA has a far larger workforce deployed across nearly every airport in the country, while the NCAA operates relatively smaller regional offices. In addition to personnel expenses, he said NAMA is responsible for acquiring, installing, calibrating and maintaining costly navigation equipment nationwide in compliance with ICAO standards.
He said the agency is also responsible for ensuring uninterrupted power supply to critical installations despite rising diesel costs, while maintaining round-the-clock operations at airports and mandatory reporting points. He added that rapid technological advancements make continuous training of personnel essential.
“NAMA trains air traffic controllers, engineers and other technical professionals because technology is dynamic. If the agency fails to keep pace with global technological changes, Nigeria risks being isolated from the international aviation community,” he argued.
Badamosi therefore questioned the rationale behind the existing allocation formula, under which the NCAA receives about 56 per cent of the Ticket Sales Charge while NAMA receives only 23 per cent.
“The revenue is generated largely from activities driven by NAMA’s operational environment, yet the agency receives a comparatively small share. The question is: what criteria produced the present formula?” he asked.
The Joint Action Committee of the NCAA, while opposing any reduction in the regulator’s allocation, recently argued that a more sustainable approach would be to commercialise or partially privatise NAMA. The committee said such a model would enable the agency to attract private investment, international financing, bonds and capital market funding to support major technological upgrades instead of relying largely on statutory allocations and government budgets.
Supporters of this model argue that giving NAMA greater financial independence would accelerate the deployment of next-generation surveillance systems, strengthen backup infrastructure and reduce delays associated with annual budget approvals. Yet proponents of the National Assembly bill maintain that commercialisation remains a long-term option. Until such reforms materialise, they argue, NAMA still requires stronger statutory funding to discharge its current responsibilities effectively.
According to available budget information, the agency generates revenue from en-route charges, overflight charges, non-navigational services and its statutory share of the Ticket Sales Charge. Additional income comes from charter flight services, air traffic services at state-owned airports, calibration services, obstacle evaluation, aeronautical information publications and specialised pilgrimage operations. However, many industry stakeholders insist these revenues are insufficient to support the scale of infrastructure renewal now required. For them, increasing NAMA’s share of the Ticket Sales Charge is not about favouring one agency over another but about ensuring that the country’s air navigation infrastructure does not deteriorate through chronic underfunding.
At the same time, supporters acknowledge the concerns raised by aviation unions representing NCAA employees. The regulator remains responsible for certification, surveillance, inspections and enforcement of aviation safety standards. An effective regulator is indispensable to a safe aviation system. However, many analysts believe the debate should not be framed as a contest between NAMA and the NCAA.
Former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd.), also backed calls for a more balanced review of the revenue-sharing formula, arguing that the current arrangement should better reflect the operational responsibilities and financial obligations of the various aviation agencies. He noted that while agencies such as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau provide services beyond the aviation sector, both the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology also generate income from their statutory mandates.
According to him, the debate should move beyond sentiments and focus on objective parameters such as personnel strength, operational spread, infrastructure ownership and maintenance obligations.
He noted, “Besides NiMet and NSIB, which provide services to other transportation modes, NCAA and NCAT are also generating revenues in their respective areas of function. What we must do with the sharing of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge, Cargo Sales Charge and Cargo Freight Charge is to be rational, considering the number of personnel, equipment, their spread across the country, their periodic maintenance and mandatory calibrations.
“While the service charges of the NCAA are regulated by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, that is not the case with NAMA’s charges, which are largely guided by ICAO standards. These are important distinctions that should not be ignored in determining how industry revenues are shared.”
The retired Air Force officer further urged policymakers to focus on reforms capable of accelerating the growth of Nigeria’s aviation industry rather than allowing politics to shape institutional development.
Reflecting on his experience as a member of an International Air Transport Association team that visited Rwanda in 2013, Ojikutu said he was surprised to discover that the country’s aviation security personnel had received training from Nigeria’s Federal Airports Authority, a development he said demonstrated the country’s former leadership position on the continent.
He said, “Let us help the industry in Nigeria to grow in development and progress alongside its contemporaries in Africa and globally. What I saw in Rwanda in 2013, when I was on an IATA assignment, shocked me. They received their aviation security training from Nigeria’s FAAN. That showed the potential we have.
“We still have a lot to do. Political interference must be reduced. Let the agencies have properly constituted management boards in line with the enabling laws so that professionalism, rather than politics, drives decision-making.”
Ojikutu expressed concern over what he described as the aviation industry’s sluggish growth over the past 20 years, arguing that the expansion in the number of airports has not been matched by increases in passenger traffic, cargo volumes or the long-term viability of airlines.
He asserted, “Nobody will convince me today that the industry has made the level of progress it should have in the last 20 years. Apart from increasing the number of airports, we have not achieved the projected growth in passenger and cargo traffic. Our airlines have not recorded significant expansion; many have had very short life spans.
“The political office-holders should give life to the industry, not to themselves. Having 13 ministers supervising aviation in 26 years is not a sign of sustainable growth. What the industry needs is continuity, institutional stability and long-term planning.”
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