Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has officially signed the updated Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) procedure for Recordation of Irrevocable Deregistraction and Export Request Authorization (IDERA) and registration of Aircraft under IDERA to enhance compliance with international standards.
According to Keyamo, IDERA is the administrative remedy by which NCAA can issued authorisation for the deregistraction of aircraft on the request of the owner.
He further noted that IDERA is an international requirement the Aviation Group and aircrafts operators across the world are waiting anxiously for Nigeria to sign the documents to ensure their aircrafts are safe within the country.
Stressing the significance of signing the updated IDERA, Keyamo said the previous governments have ignore this part of their duty in the Aviation Industry.
He further stated that signing of IDERA is needful in other to unlock the walls of aircraft lessors and financiers across the world to operate in Nigeria.
His words: “We signed the practice direction guiding the court on how to intepret the Cape Town convention and the protocols
“We signed that because there was a judicial uncertainty before then as to how to treat cases that were brought before the court requiring it to intervene when there’s a dispute between the lessors and the lessees”.
According to the Minister, in the past, there was always a problem on how to resolve dispute and the time frame within which such disputes are resolved.
Keyamo noted that the single uncertainty affected Nigeria’s rating in the international community, resulting to her being blacklisted – not a safe place for the lessors and financiers of aircraft to do business.
He also stressed that having settled the judicial remedies by the practice direction, Nigeria has turned attention to the administrative root by which aircraft can be deregistered and exported out of the country.
He further stated that lessors have two remedies, to either take their aircrafts out when there’s a dispute – the judicial remedy which relates more to the debtors who runs to the court to get an injunction, saying, the creditors can also go to court requiring to take their aircrafts out and their request will be granted by the court.
Je said: “However, there’s a second remedy – the NCAA which can issue authorisation (IDERA) either after the court has granted the order or even without a court order; you can apply administratively for your aircraft to be taken out of the country”.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Director General of NCAA, Captain Chris Ona Najomo, said in relation to the registration and operation of aircraft in Nigeria, the main impact of IDERA is the ability of the registered owner to request an Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Authorisation over an eligible aircraft.
He said once an IDERA is recorded, the party that has been declared by the registered owner as the authorized party will be the only party with the right to deregister and export aircraft
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