Reports indicate that Stakeholders in the aviation sector are concerned over the conflicting statistics of air travelers routinely published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). According to Daily Independent, the figures released by the NBS for air travellers in the country in 2017 is over two million at variance with the earlier one released by the NCAA which put the figure at 11,221,617 passengers.
Speaking on the matter, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), the General Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), said that it was not the first time that the NBS would release conflicting figures from that of NCAA or any other agency in the sector. He lamented that the discrepancy in the figures released, stakeholders said, would make international communities to see the country as unserious. He challenged the NBS to release the source of its statistics.
“This is not the first time that the NBS would goof with conflicting figures from aviation recorded statistics. Last year, it said that the industry contributed less than one percent to the national GDP, even when IATA said that aviation contributed $8.5 billion.
This figure did not include the domestic airlines earnings, while only about 30 percent of the figures are for tickets sales, which the foreign airlines repatriated home; the rest 70 percent are in payment for passenger service charge (PSC), landing and parking, ground handling services, air traffic and navigational services, fuel services and others.
“Remember that FAAN, the airport passenger traffic gate-keeper, and the NCAA came out with similar figures of about 11 million passenger traffic and that the figure was 26 percent less than the figures of last year. The government must investigate the source of the NBS figures,” he added.
Also speaking, Olumide Ohunayo, the Director, Research, Zenith Travels, said;
“The automation of air transport industry has greatly improved data capturing; why we have different figures in Nigeria really baffles me. Considering these figures are needed to complement airport concession process while they are also used to attract investors to our airlines and other sectors of the industry. Prompt investigation of present discrepancies is key while the ministry coordinates data information, which should be delivered on a monthly basis.”
