The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it is in the final draft stage of drawing the regulation that would guide the use of drones, known as Remotely Piloted Aerial System (RPAS), in Nigeria. NCAA said the major challenge about the planned regulation borders in the area of security where it has no final say.
Speaking at the Airport Business Summit Expo, the Director-General NCAA Capt. Musa Nuhu represented by the Director of Airworthiness, Kayode Ajiboye said, there were safety, security and technological challenges that needed to be addressed for seamless use of the unmanned aerial vehicle.
According to him, the upcoming regulations would create a level playing field and address issues like registration, security approvals, operational certification, Airworthiness, licensing of personnel, economic authorisation and privacy.
Nuhu noted that when the final draft is completed, there would be a stakeholders’ engagement to garner inputs to the draft and an advisory circular on guidance had been sent to respective operators on how to get certificated.
On security, he stressed that there was the need to mitigate risks to national security and public safety posed by people who are not playing by the rules.
“We must ensure that the Nigerian Airspace remains safe and that the benefits of UAV operations is well understood and we’ll implement.”
He added that they have no doubt that the current legal framework and collaboration with operators, stakeholders and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) would provide a robust structure and system for the regulation of drone operation and its structured growth in Nigeria.
