Acting DG NCAA Can Be In Office For One Year – Spokesman

LAGOS – The Public Service Rules enable Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of any government agencies and departments to remain in acting capacity for one year, Mr. Mike Achimugu, the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified.

This is in a reaction to the insinuation that the tenure of Capt. Chris Najomo, the Acting Director-General Civil Aviation had elapsed, having spent six months in office.

Najomo was appointed by the Federal Government on December 13, 2023 as the Acting Director-General Civil Aviation, but his name was yet to be submitted to the Senate for screening and confirmation by the Federal Government.

Some of the stakeholders also claimed that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Act 2022 stipulated that an Acting Director-General cannot be in that capacity for more than six months.

But, speaking with our correspondent on phone on Friday, Achimugu stated that the public service rules were clear on the tenureship of an acting CEO.

He explained that the public service rules accommodated one year in acting capacity for any CEO of a government agency.

With this, he said the tenure of Najomo had not elapsed and his continued stay in office was recognised by the law.

He attributed the recent insinuations on the tenureship of the acting Director-General to the handiwork of some paid agents who he purported were bent on causing a crisis in the agency.

He said: “All of these assertions by this Acting DG tenure have expired are a fallacy. I think this is the handiwork of paid agents who have been hell bent on causing chaos within our ranks here; nothing is different from the people who came out with a fictitious N250 million expenditure, which they have failed to produce any evidence till date.

“The Public Service Rules state clearly that acting capacity lasts for one year. Capt. Chris Najomo’s position as Acting Director-General has not expired and the Public Service Rules are clear on this. In the haste of some people to cause problems here, they have failed to do proper research and look at the books. The public rules are actually clear of the acting DG tenure and it is one year.”

Besides, Achimugu stated that the NCAA was yet to receive any new directive from either the presidency or the ministry on the issue of a substantive Director-General for NCAA, stressing that the status quo remains.