Usman argued that given the increasing number of flight delays and cancellations as well as its impact on affected passengers, revisiting the policy was necessary.
The federal government is planning to impose stiffer sanctions on airlines over flight delays and cancellations.
This comes after the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, CRDCU, proposed a review of the draft policy on sanctions for airlines.
This will be submitted to the ministry of aviation and aerospace development and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.
CRDCU is led by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Bala Usman.
Usman argued that given the increasing number of flight delays and cancellations as well as its impact on affected passengers, revisiting the policy was necessary.
She made this recommendation during the Q1–Q3 2024 performance assessment report on the implementation of presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables.
Disclosing this via its Twitter handle yesterday, CRDCU stated that Usman also recommended a revision of the current target of 224 days for resolving customer complaints.
According to her, it is unrealistic and in need of urgent amendment to align with global best practices.
The statement read: “The CRDCU led by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, this morning continued its engagement with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs, to review the Q1–Q3 2024 Performance Assessment Report on the implementation of Presidential Priorities and Ministerial Deliverables.
“The first engagement of the day was held at the ministry of aviation and aerospace development, where the special adviser met with the minister, Festus Keyamo; the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr. Ibrahim Kana; Managing Director/CEO of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku; and other heads of departments and agencies under the ministry.
“The special adviser commended the minister and leadership of the ministry for ensuring progress within the sector.
‘’However, she expressed concerns with the ministry and its agencies over their submission of incomplete information, which hinders the independent assessment of progress towards achieving certain deliverables.
‘’She also highlighted the ministry’s shortcomings in stakeholder and customer engagement, a key deliverable that also requires urgent improvement.
“The special adviser recommended that the ministry and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, revisit the draft policy on sanctions for airlines.
‘’She described this as critical, given the increasing number of flight delays and cancellations and the impact on affected passengers.
‘’She further recommended a revision of the current target of 224 days for resolving customer complaints, describing it as unrealistic and in need of urgent recalibration to align with global best practices.”
“Following the presentation of the ministry’s performance scorecard for Q1–Q3 2024, the minister expressed his appreciation to the special adviser for her diligent work and guidance.
“He assured her that the ministry would address the highlighted challenges and intensify efforts to improve performance and service delivery in the aviation sector.”