By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), on Thursday said that it is committed to enhancing its Safety Management Systems across all its units with special focus on operational and engineering units.
Chief of The Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar disclosed this while, declaring open the year 2023 NAF Safety Review Board (SRB) meeting, at NAF Headquarters Abuja.
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The CAS said that the NAF is fully committed to developing, implementing and reviewing policies to ensure that NAF operations and other activities are conducted in a safe environment.
Air Marshal Abubakar, also noted that safety management in the NAF is a major priority and core function in view of the technical and complex nature of assigned tasks and roles of the Service.
Director of Public Relations and Information,
Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, in a statement quoted the CAS as saying: “My resolve is to ‘transform the NAF into an agile and resilient force that effectively meets the airpower demands of national security in all operational environment, using safety as the bedrock”.
The CAS reiterated his commitment to ensuring continuous improvement in safety standards through deliberate programmes aimed at enhancing flight safety as well as occupational and domestic safety in the NAF.
He said that some of the platforms acquired by the Federal Government have arrived the country and will soon boost the NAF’s combat capabilities as well as help in increasing its operational tempo hence the need for safety vigilance.
He said, “We are aware that increase in operational tempo will lead to increase in hazards associated with our operations in line with ICAO’s postulation that hazards are the by-products of production or operational activities.”
He called for a proactive management of safety in all units and commands and specifically directed operational units where newly acquire NAF aircraft would be domiciled to commence the process of aggressively identifying hazards associated with the arrival and operations of the new platforms and finding ways to manage the risks involved.
The CAS, who is also the Chairman of the NAF Safety Review Board further noted the need for field Commanders to ensure that the safety trainings translate to the development of positive safety culture, improvement in safety practices as well as creation of awareness that safety is the responsibility of all personnel.
Earlier, the NAF Chief of Standards and Evaluation, Air Vice Marshal Micheal Onyebashi noted that the SRB is designed to discuss and review issued related to safety policies and regulations as well as allocate resources for enhanced safety standards in the NAF.
He also revealed that the Board is expected to provide appropriate directives and guidelines that would ensure the entrenchment of a positive safety culture in the NAF.
