Joint Western & Central African (WACAF) Office and - ICAO

STATE PROFILE — NIGERIA
One of Nigeria’s recent and very successful TRACON-enabling installations.
if we are to reposition the aviation industry properly,
its viability and vision must remain a priority of the
present government.”
NAMA has been pushing in recent months to complete
two major projects. The first is the achievement of the
total VHF coverage which, upon completion, will enhance
communications between pilots and controllers to the extent
that aircraft crew will now be in constant contact with any of
the pertinent centers within Nigerian airspace. Aircraft will
now have complete access to air traffic control services
enabling safer and more efficient landings all over the
country. This upgrade has taken into account the shift from
terrestrial to satellite-based systems, a move that will be
completed the world over by 2015.
Total Radar Coverage
The other major project underway within the NAMA is one that
both defines past failures and enables future success: Total
Radar Coverage of Nigeria, or TRACON. Exasperated by a five
year delay on the project, Nigeria’s former Minister of Aviation
gave the contractor an 18 month deadline that has led to
Lagos and Abuja stations being successfully completed and
operational since August and September 2009, respectively.
All other airports involved in the project are due to be
completed during summer 2010.
NAMA’s Udoh noted that the State’s TRACON equipment
is amongst the most advanced in Africa, if not the world.
Accurate tracking of all aircraft entering Nigeria now brings
not just security benefits but also commercial advantages.
An Auto Billing System (ABS) is built into the TRACON system
and captures any aircraft that enters Nigerian airspace.
“The minute aircraft enter our airspace and start
communicating with controllers they are recorded,”
explained Udoh. “Upon leaving Nigerian airspace
they are billed automatically.”
20 REGIONAL REpORt - AFRICA - 2011
Predicting the Unpredictable:
The Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET)
Advances in aircraft design, radar systems, and air traffic
management have all contributed to make air travel safer than
ever. But there is one factor that cannot be controlled: the
weather. It is the one part of the flight plan that the pilot
always shares with the passengers and also one of the
largest determining factors in aviation accidents.
The first question of any aircraft accident investigation is
inevitably about the weather conditions. For this reason,
meteorological services represent an area of aeronautical
operations that is strictly regulated by ICAO in concert with
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Every ICAO
Member State is required to designate a national weather
service provider, charged with the responsibility of providing
aeronautical meteorological information for the safety of
flight operations.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) is the designated
national weather service provider in Nigeria. The Agency was
established in 2003 to provide meteorological services in
support of human and environmental sustainability, policy
development, and safe operation of air, land and marine
transportation. Anthony Anuforom, an atmospheric physicist,
is the current Director General of NIMET and has been
coordinating the agency’s policies to align it with the sweeping
improvements that have characterized the Nigerian aviation
sector in the last three years.
“You cannot achieve aviation safety without accurate and
timely weather information,” explained Anuforom, “and for
that you need a strong, well-equipped modern meteorological
agency such as NIMET. I am happy to say that our government