From Suleiman Amagbor, Lagos
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), has canvassed for partnership and collaboration with the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) as the agency puts arrangements in top gear to mark its 25th anniversary celebrations.
Officials of the agency disclosed that the event will take place between the 21st and 23rd of July in Abuja.
NAMA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Alhaji Abdulahi Musa affirmed that NAMA has ensured the country enjoys a safe and navigable airspace over the two decades of its existence.
He spoke when he received the executive members of LAAC who paid him a courtesy visit in Lagos where he said such a partnership and synergy would not only help in propagating the event to the world but also ensure adequate sensitization of stakeholders and the general public before and after the celebrations.
The anniversary programme tagged “NAMA @ 25” would focus on the journey so far embarked upon by NAMA from inception in 1999 to date and its commitment over the years to promote and enhance the safety of air navigation in Nigeria.
“We intend to use the opportunity of this programme to showcase several milestones recorded by the agency across different administrations in the aspect of boosting and upgrading our Air Traffic Management, navigational and surveillance facilities to keep pace with global best practices as recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs),” Musa said.
According to the NAMA Director, “the presence and participation of aviation journalists who have been reporting the agency’s giant strides over the years would be critical to the success of the event as it would further enrich the discussions and analyses, given that most of the aviation correspondents would be reporting with the aid of their wealth of experience garnered over the years.”
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of LAAC, Suleiman Idris noted that his association has had a robust working relationship with NAMA since its creation, stressing that given the technical background of the agency, the reportage of its programmes remained critical for the enlightenment of both stakeholders and the general public.
While promising that his administration would further enhance the already existing partnership with the agency, Idris drew the attention of the Director to some of the challenges affecting his association in the discharge of their duties like epileptic power supply at the LAAC secretariat in Lagos.
The highpoint of the occasion was the conferment of the position of Patron of the League on the NAMA Director, Abdullahi Musa.