The Accident Investigation Bureau has commenced the relocation of its corporate headquarters to Abuja from Lagos.
This followed the Ministerial directive that all aviation agencies should relocate their corporate headquarters to Abuja.
The AIB had stated that the Commissioner/ CEO, Mr. Akin Olateru, and other strategic officers had since been operating from Abuja.
It further explained that the measure was to ensure an efficient and effective coordination and enhanced service delivery between the Federal Ministry of Aviation and its agencies.
The Minister of Aviation in a letter dated May 4, 2020 had ordered all the agencies under the Ministry to relocate their headquarters to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja within 45 days.
The letter read in part: “I am directed to remind you of the presidential directive issued in 2012 requesting agencies under the ministry to relocate their corporate headquarters to the Federal Capital Territory for efficient and effective coordination and enhanced service delivery between the ministry and its agencies and to note that, eight years after the directives, the agencies are yet to comply.
“Accordingly, considering the current situation and the economic impact worldwide, as well as the need to reduce the cost of governance and manage the scarce resources in a sustainable way, it has become imperative and further to the Honourable Minister’s directives (copy attached) to request that you facilitate and complete the relocation exercise of your corporate headquarters to Abuja within the next 45 days, in line with earlier directives.”
In view of this, the statement from the AIB declared that it has strictly adhered to this directive by relocating its Head office to its office in Abuja, with the Commissioner/CEO and other essential staff reporting for duty at the Headquarters Office in Abuja.
According to the statement, this is an on-going process, which will take a while for other essential staff to relocate to the Head Office considering the lockdown and funding to aid the relocation.
It said the Bureau has also effected these changes on all its social media platforms and other formal means of communications.
Other affected agencies include the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The other two agencies were already outside Lagos; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) has always been in Abuja, while the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), has its head office in Zaria, Kaduna State.