Nigeria’s Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, on 16 February 2026 received a Regional Office Safety Team from the International Civil Aviation Organization Western and Central African Office in Abuja as part of a technical assistance mission to strengthen the country’s aviation safety oversight system.
The mission marks the commencement of ICAO’s Regional Office Safety Team Assistance Mission to Nigeria and forms part of preparations for the ICAO International Coordinated Validation Mission scheduled for 15 to 22 April 2026.
The assistance is focused on four audit areas with the highest number of outstanding protocol questions: Personnel Licensing, Flight Operations, Air Navigation Services, and Aerodromes and Ground Aids.
Nigeria previously recorded an Effective Implementation score of 70.12 per cent during the 2023 ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach audit. Corrective Action Plans were subsequently developed, validated by ICAO and are currently being implemented.
ICAO WACAF representatives emphasised that the exercise is an assistance mission rather than an audit and encouraged transparency among stakeholders.
