THE National Aviation Stakeholders Forum (NASF) has expressed concerns regarding the management of funds related to the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), highlighting issues in the remittance processes across aviation agencies.
The forum urged the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation to broaden its ongoing public hearing on the TSC sharing formula into a full investigation of the fund’s management.
Specifically, NASF asked the committee to obtain records of collections and remittances from airlines, identify outstanding liabilities, examine what enforcement action had been taken against defaulting operators, and scrutinise how agencies had spent funds already received.
NASF’s National Coordinator Engr. Yahaya Yusuf said “the issue should not be limited to who gets what percentage of the five per cent TSC. Nigerians deserve to know how much has been collected, how much has been remitted and what has happened to the funds”.
The group also called for a real-time, technology-driven tracking system for ticket sales, TSC collections and remittances, saying this would close loopholes and reduce the risk of future disruptions.
The forum did, however, commend the National Assembly for engaging stakeholders on the TSC formula and urged lawmakers to ensure any outcome prioritises transparency and sustainable funding for aviation agencies.
Last week’s aviation crisis, linked to disputes over the non-remittance and sharing of the statutory TSC fund, caused widespread flight cancellations and rescheduling across Nigerian airports. Normal operations only resumed after the federal government and the National Assembly stepped in to broker a resolution.
On August 17, NASF called for the resignation of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director-general, Capt. Chris Najomo, citing his leadership’s failure to prevent the recent aviation crisis.
The forum of aviation experts and consultants contended that the disruptions to flight schedules, such as mass cancellations and forced rescheduling, were preventable and should not have escalated to industrial action by aviation unions.