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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been urged to regulate the indiscriminate drone operations by uncertified persons in the country.
An NCAA-approved ARCO Aviation Academy made the call at the graduation of 12 of its students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday, October 24, 2025.
The Chief Instructor of the Academy, Samuel Sunday, who made the call, said the NCAA should ensure that certified persons enter the drone domain to make the airspace safe.
Sunday said the Academy, being the foremost drone-certified training school by the NCAA in the country, is concerned about the safety of air users and the growth of the Nigerian aviation industry.
He emphasised that without proper checks by relevant regulatory authorities, the airspace would be at risk of interference.
The chief instructor disclosed that the training school was established to address the demand and cost for pilots going abroad to obtain drone pilot certification.
He stated: “ARCO Aviation Academy is the first drone-certified training school in Nigeria, which is accredited and certified by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and it is the first to have received an Approved Aviation Organisation (AAO) certification by the NCAA.
“With the demand for pilots going abroad to obtain the remote pilot certification—that’s the drone pilot certification—ARCO Worldwide Services came up with the need to create an institution that will allow Nigerians to stay within the country and have this certification.”
According to Sunday, the institution subsidised the cost of obtaining certification seamlessly to boost revenue generation for the country.
“ARCO now came up with the idea of building its own school, so that it will keep all the revenue within and also train its own pilots and other pilots from other companies to obtain the certification with ease, without spending much and without going out of the country.
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“Today, we are graduating the second set of visual line of sight pilots—that’s the VLOS pilot. We have graduated the first set, which is the 001 RPC, they are four in number, and the second set, we have 12, which gives us a total of 16 in number.”
Sunday, however, urged them to exhibit professionalism in their operations, maintain ethical standards, and be good ambassadors of the institution.
He also urged them to always prioritise the safety of members of the public, warning that erring drone pilots would be sanctioned by relevant regulatory authorities.
Sunday encouraged: “I expect them to go out there, first of all, make us proud by flying the banner of ARCO Aviation Academy wide and high.
“I expect them to fly with every knowledge, skill, and good attitude that they have acquired from this institution in portraying every activity they do in their different companies and even in the community, in the general public.”
The chief instructor expressed optimism about the technological advancement of drone operators and the need to grow Nigeria’s economy.
He expressed: “The future of drones in Nigeria and in the world at large is very wide because the industry itself is just coming up in Nigeria. So, it basically means that there’s a lot to be acquired and there’s a lot to be done in the drone space.”
One of the newly certified drone pilots, Achimugu Ukwenya, expressed satisfaction with the experience he gained during the three-week intensive training.
He said the training had broadened his knowledge of the drone domain and would help him operate within the professionally acceptable standard.
