The Nigeria Air force, Tactical Air Command, Makurdi, has commenced a two day Safety seminar for its officers and men as part of effort to raise safety standards, efficiency and mitigate harzard in both civil and military aviation.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar, who declared the event open, said the seminar was aimed at reawakening consciousness of flight, ground and maintenance safety of airmen and women of the Nigeria Air Force in line with best global practices.
Abubakar, who was represented by Air Vice Marshal Remingius Ekeh, noted that one of the key drivers of his vision was a robust logistics support and maintenance culture to sustain platforms and equipment serviceability.
According to Abubakar, the 2019 TAC safety seminar was one in a series of safety programmes designed by NAF Headquarters, to be conducted across all NAF commands to enhance operational effectiveness.
He said it was indicative of NAF’s committment towards ensuring safe air Operations in the Service and the Nigerian airspace in general.
He noted that continuous air worthiness in operations and aircraft maintenance is a complex discipline that requires constant updates to keep all personnel abreast with changes and the high level of safety knowledge required in a technical organisation such as the Nigerian Air Force.
Meanwhile, the Air Officer Commanding Tactical Air Command, AVM Charles Ohwo, expressed appreciation to the chief of air staff for all his efforts towards enhancing safety standards in NAF and the TAC particularly personnel capacity building which is one of the key drivers of the CAS’ vision.
He said NAF personnel have been trained both locally and abroad on safe and efficient performance of their duties, with the tactical air command personnel being major beneficiaries of such courses. He however said NAF safety records have improved tremendously but added that there was room for improvement.
AVM Charles Ohwo, said participants in the seminar cut across officers and airmen/women of operational and engineering units under TAC units, stating that safety was a shared responsibility that requires synergy between regulators, operators and other stakeholders.
The theme of the seminar was, “Imbibing Safety Consciousness for Seamless Air Operations”.
