In a fresh twist to the debate over the future of Nigeria’s air navigation services, workers’ unions within the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) have firmly opposed calls to privatise or commercialise the agency and maintained that the country’s airspace remains a strategic national asset that should not be subjected to commercial interests.
The unions also renewed their demand for an upward review of the Ticket Service Charge (TSC) sharing formula, affirming that NAMA deserves a 40 per cent allocation to strengthen the safety infrastructure that underpins Nigeria’s aviation system.
Their position came after the recent calls by the Joint Action Committee of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) which urged the Federal Government to consider privatising or commercialising NAMA as part of reforms within the aviation sector.
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However, the three in-house unions, the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), warned that treating NAMA as a conventional commercial enterprise overlooks its constitutional and operational responsibilities.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the unions argued that NAMA’s primary responsibility is not revenue generation but the safe management of Nigeria’s sovereign airspace through highly specialised navigation and surveillance systems.
They maintained that the agency oversees critical aviation infrastructure, including Aeronautical Information Management systems, communication, navigation and surveillance facilities, airspace structures, instrument flight procedures, aeronautical databases and charts, all of which directly support safe flight operations.
According to the unions, any conversation about the agency’s future must recognise that air navigation services are internationally regarded as strategic national infrastructure with significant security implications.
The uni ones said, “At a time when the aviation industry requires professionalism, technical understanding, collaboration and collective commitment to protecting national assets, it is unfortunate that representatives within a critical aviation institution would advance a position that appears not to fully appreciate the strategic importance, security sensitivity and international obligations associated with Air Navigation Services.”
They further declared: “Nigeria’s airspace is a sovereign national asset. The safety of millions of passengers must never be subjected to poorly considered policy experiments. NAMA is not for sale. Nigeria’s airspace is not for sale. Safety is not negotiable.”
The latest intervention expands an emerging disagreement among stakeholders over how best to reposition Nigeria’s aviation sector at a time of increasing operational costs and infrastructure demands.
Rather than commercialising the agency, the unions insisted that government should focus on providing stronger financial support for air navigation services, insisting that sustainable funding remains central to aviation safety.
They called for aviation-generated revenues to be dedicated exclusively to aviation development and urged greater investment in Communication, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) modernisation projects.
As part of that proposal, the unions stood on the position that NAMA’s share of the Ticket Service Charge should be increased to 40 per cent, describing the request as a practical investment in operational safety rather than a struggle over revenue distribution among aviation agencies.
They noted that protecting Nigeria’s airspace extends beyond aviation administration and forms part of the country’s broader national security responsibilities.
The unions warned that any policy capable of weakening critical aviation infrastructure or exposing sensitive operational systems to avoidable risks should receive careful institutional scrutiny before implementation.
They also commended the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, for “his efforts in managing the aviation sector” and urged him to sustain policies aimed at strengthening key aviation institutions instead of weakening them.
The dispute comes about the ongoing conversations about reforms within Nigeria’s aviation industry, with stakeholders offering differing views on how government agencies should be funded and managed without compromising safety, security and regulatory effectiveness.
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