NSIB Faces Funding Crisis Impacting Aviation Safety

Captain Alex Badeh Jnr, the Director General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), stated that the agency is struggling to fulfill its statutory responsibilities due to insufficient funding. The NSIB relies on allocations from the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), which are inadequate, and it has not received any funds from other agencies that are supposed to support its operations.

Badeh expressed concern over a proposal from the House of Representatives committee on Aviation to reduce the NSIB's current 6% allocation to 4%, warning that this would severely impact the agency's operations and aviation safety. He also highlighted the failure of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to remit the 3% funding from the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and noted that the NSIB has not received any funding from the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) for its investigations in the rail sector.

Badeh emphasized that safety is essential for a successful aviation industry and warned that further cuts would be unsustainable.