United Nigeria Airlines has formally honoured Capt. Chris Najomo, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, in recognition of his leadership of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and his collaborative approach to advancing Nigeria's aviation safety standards, regulatory reform, and stakeholder engagement.
The honour was presented at an event attended by aviation industry stakeholders and reflects an unusual public gesture of recognition from a commercial airline to the head of its regulator — one that speaks to the character of the relationship between the NCAA and the airline industry under Capt. Najomo's tenure.
Najomo's Tenure at the NCAA
Capt. Najomo has presided over a period of significant regulatory activity at the NCAA. Under his leadership, the authority has pursued a modernisation agenda that includes the deployment of the EMPIC digital licensing and certification platform, the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements with Ghana, the WFP MOU on humanitarian air operations, the launch of the SMS Pro safety management system in collaboration with the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, and — most significantly — Nigeria's 91.45 per cent ICAO Effective Implementation score in the 2026 Coordinated Validation Mission.
The ICAO score, which improved from 70.23 per cent in 2023 to 91.45 per cent — well above the global average of 70.4 per cent — is widely regarded as the most consequential achievement of Najomo's time at the NCAA, reflecting years of sustained work on safety documentation, personnel training, aerodrome certification, and regulatory compliance across the full breadth of Nigeria's civil aviation system.
What United Nigeria's Gesture Signals
For an airline to publicly honour its regulator is uncommon in any market. In Nigeria, where the relationship between airlines and regulatory authorities has historically been characterised by tension — most recently visible in the NCAA's No Pay No Service enforcement action and its subsequent suspension — United Nigeria Airlines' decision to formally recognise Capt. Najomo is a deliberate public signal of a more constructive working relationship.
United Nigeria Airlines Chairman Prof. Obiora Okonkwo has separately called for a comprehensive review of the aviation remittance framework, arguing that layered deductions from airline revenues undermine sector growth. That the airline has chosen to honour the DGCA even while advocating for regulatory reform suggests a maturing of the industry-regulator dialogue in Nigeria's aviation sector.
