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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
In with efforts to mitigate future air disasters in Nigeria, the Federal Government said it is producing air travel charts and maps to enhance the safety and security of air travellers.
The Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGoF) said it is synergising with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to facilitate the production.
Disclosing this during a meeting with NAMA officials, in Abuja, the Surveyor General of the Federation (SGoF), Abuduganiyu Adeyemi Adebomehin, described the assignment as a national assignment, while stressing the need for surveyors to work together with the technical staff of NAMA to produce charts and maps that would help government guarantee safety and security of aircraft and their passengers.
He said that OSGoF has the capacity to provide the best of charts and maps which would also be made available to stakeholders for improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the government.
Expressing concern over the huge financial demands on the government by various sectors of the economy, he maintained that OSGoF would henceforth produce such charts and maps as well as provide geospatial services to discourage unnecessary financial outflows.
However, the leader of the NAMA delegation, Asifat Badmus, explained that the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) are important for the safety of lives and for flights.
So, the VFR is expected to guide, provide directions, locations and to quickly identify hills and mountains, bodies of water and other physical features for easy navigation.
Badmus said the importance of charts and maps for air travels cannot be overemphasised hence OSGoF as the apex surveying and mapping institution of the country would always be required to provide the base and positioning for better air traffic services. NAMA, according to him, needs updated topographical maps and charts as well as the data from OSGoF to function.
According to him, collaboration with OSGoF would help NAMA provide charts that meet the International Civil Aviation (ICAO) standards that would be accepted worldwide.
Meanwhile, OSGoF has designated Azeez Afeez, Surveyor Izuegbu Uju and Surveyor Alamu Abayomi Samsideen to work with NAMA technical team for the production of charts and maps.
