By Fatima Saka
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday raised fresh concerns over aviation safety following revelations from the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) report on the Air Peace runway overrun incident at Port Harcourt International Airport on June 22, 2025.
Addressing journalists after the motion was passed on the Senate floor, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari (Oyo North), sponsor of the motion and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, expressed deep concern over the rising number of runway, related incidents in the country.
“Since January to date, we have recorded at least seven cases of aircraft either overrunning or overshooting the runway. Initially, many of us thought these were isolated incidents, normal occurrences that could happen anywhere, until the NSIB came up with a very disturbing report,” Senator Buhari said.
He disclosed that the NSIB investigation into the Port Harcourt incident revealed that the pilot, co-pilot, and some cabin crew members of the affected Air Peace flight tested positive for drugs, a finding he described as “shocking and unacceptable.”
According to him, “If this report is true and the situation is not urgently addressed, it could have led to a major disaster. This is why we decided to bring the matter to the floor of the Senate, to get the mandate to investigate and ensure full accountability. All four aviation agencies involved, FAAN, NCAA, NAMA, and NSIB, are under our oversight, and we will invite them for proper clarification.”
The senator emphasized the need for random drug and alcohol testing for airline pilots and crew members, similar to global practices in countries like the United States and Canada.
“In other countries, aviation and traffic authorities can randomly test pilots or drivers for alcohol or drug use. Why can’t we have that here? If we ignore this warning, God forbid, the next incident could be catastrophic. We cannot afford to wait for tragedy before acting,” Buhari warned.
He said the Aviation Committee initially sought a two-month window for its probe but has now been given a four-week mandate by the Senate to engage all relevant stakeholders and report back with actionable recommendations.
“This is not about blame. It’s about responsibility. Nigerians should not have to ask us later, ‘Where were you when all these safety lapses were happening?’ We are determined to do the right thing, strengthen oversight, and restore public confidence in our aviation system,” he said.
The Senate’s resolution, therefore, mandates the Committee on Aviation to work closely with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and the NSIB to ensure full implementation of the safety recommendations and report back within four weeks.
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