The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has vowed to sustain the recent gains in Nigeria's aviation safety performance — following Nigeria's record-breaking 91.45 per cent ICAO Effective Implementation score under the 2026 Coordinated Validation Mission, which placed the country above the global average of 70.4 per cent.
FAAN's Director of Public Affairs, Henry Agbebire, attributed the achievement to the collective resolve of stakeholders across the aviation ecosystem and strong policy direction from the Federal Government.
The Aerodrome Domain Transformation
"At the heart of this achievement is the remarkable improvement in the Aerodrome and Ground Aids domain," Agbebire said. "From a modest 57.5 per cent recorded during the 2023 USOAP audit, impacted by 53 unsatisfactory Protocol Questions, Nigeria has now attained a preliminary score of 95.16 per cent as of April 2026. This 37.90 per cent leap underscores a deliberate and sustained transformation across safety systems."
The improvement is directly attributable to the aerodrome certification programme completed under FAAN MD Olubunmi Kuku's tenure — culminating in the formal aerodrome certification of Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu in April 2026. With Enugu's certification, all five Nigerian international airports — Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Enugu — simultaneously hold valid aerodrome certificates for the first time in the country's aviation history.
Sustaining the Gains
FAAN's commitment to sustain the gains is significant because safety scores can deteriorate as rapidly as they improve if underlying systems and infrastructure investments are not continuously maintained — as Nigeria's own 2023 USOAP aerodrome score of 57.5 per cent demonstrated. The rehabilitation of MMIA's international runway — Runway 18R — which had been shut down when Kuku assumed office in December 2024, was a foundational element, restoring dual-runway operations at Nigeria's busiest airport. Agbebire described the outcome as reflecting years of focused investment in infrastructure upgrades, rigorous personnel training, strengthened documentation, and enhanced safety oversight across FAAN's network of five international and 17 domestic airports.
