Workers at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority collectively commended acting Director-General Captain Chris Najomo in 2024 for a welfare push that cleared a backlog of unpaid allowances, some of which had gone unaddressed for as long as eight years. Najomo had been serving in an acting capacity following the suspension of the substantive director-general in the wake of a late-2023 shake-up of Nigeria's aviation agency leadership that required Senate confirmation to resolve permanently.
Under Najomo's watch, the authority paid out housing and promotion arrears that staff said had accumulated over nearly a decade, alongside processing promotions for personnel whose advancement had stagnated for years despite meeting the relevant criteria. Staff representatives said the moves provided a significant morale boost within an agency that had, like much of the aviation sector, been operating under considerable financial and regulatory pressure.
Stability Amid Leadership Uncertainty
The welfare improvements came even as the agency's substantive leadership question remained unresolved for much of the year, since the National Assembly confirmation required to formalise a new director-general had not been completed. That left Najomo managing the authority's day-to-day operations, including its expanded enforcement role over airline consumer protection and safety oversight, without the full institutional certainty a confirmed appointment would have provided.
A Foundation for the Year Ahead
Industry observers said the staff welfare gains were a quieter but consequential part of the NCAA's 2024, arguing that a stable, fairly compensated workforce was a precondition for the more visible reforms the agency pursued that year, from the consumer protection portal to its tightened stance on unruly passenger behaviour. Stakeholders going into 2025 pointed to the resolution of the agency's substantive leadership question as the next milestone to watch.