Following the commissioning of the regional Aviation Security Training Centre (ASTC) in Nigeria by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), the global body has charged Nigeria to work towards retaining the certification.
The training centre is supposed to serve English speaking countries of West Africa.
ICAO Regional Director, Mr. Mam Sait Jallow, said it is one thing for Nigeria to be certified as a regional centre, and another to work altogether to retain it.
“Maintaining the certificate therefore requires all stakeholders to redouble their efforts through the implementation of a coherent and comprehensive monitoring programme,” he said.
The training centre, commissioned last Friday by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, came about after 24 months of rigorous certification process conducted by the global aviation body.
FAAN MD, Engr. Saleh Dunoma, said the training centre will provide capacity enough for training Nigerians and neighbouring countries.
With the commissioning of the centre, Nigeria would be able to save huge foreign exchange which would have been spent on similar training in Europe and America, he added. The Director General of NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, stated that the certification and completion of the project was done in 24 months.
