Assessing Engr Farouk’s Impactful Leadership In NAMA, One Year After

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Engr. Umar Farouk has shown examplary leadership in just 12 months in office.

It was due to the positive changes that the NAMA MD has brought to the agency that made the management organize a get-together at the Obudu Gardens of the Abuja Continental Hotel with the theme “Staff Recognition Dinner for Impactful Leadership and Team Excellence.”

Looking at NAMA’s achievements over the past year, it is self evident that the agency has excelled in the following areas under the leadership of Farouk.

First is that, there is more confidence in the industry now, as safety has been improved. With Farouk at the helms, there has been a  remarkable reduction in Air Safety Reports, achieved through strict adherence to ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, showcasing enhanced operational safety and efficiency.

The MD has also been able to refurbish some of the of control towers in seven major airports, including Owerri, Sokoto, and Ibadan, with plans underway to extend the effort to six more airports.

Engr. Farouq has also encouraged capacity building: investment in local and international training programs for air traffic controllers, engineers, and other personnel to align with global best practices.

Under Farouk also succeeded in upgrading to solar-powered systems, reducing operational costs and ensuring reliable energy supply to critical facilities. He has equally done well in staff welfare by clearing of outstanding allowances and implementation of measures to ensure timely payment of staff dues and entitlements.

In a bid to enhance the safety and security of the nation’s airspace, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has embarked on the upgrade of its surveillance infrastructure across the nation’s airports and other remote installations across the country.

Only recently, the International Organization for standardization (ISO) approved the elevation of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to its certification category of ISO 9001:2015. The agency attained the certification recently after undergoing a strenuous certification audit by representatives of ISO and coming out successful based on the listed clauses.

Commending the achievements of Farouk in just one year in office, Presidents of professional associations in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said the one year in office by the current Managing Director, Engr. Umar Farouk has witnessed massive transformation in the agency.

Speaking on the assessment of Engr. Farouk administration, the presidents noted that workers of the agency can heave sigh of relief as they were now being carried along with the pace of development.

The President of the Aeronautical Information Management Association of Nigeria (AIMAN), Dr. Ibrahim Audu, said the recent achievement of the ISO 9001of 2015 certification of NAMA was one of the great things that had ever happened to the agency with tremendous significant in the industry.

According to Dr. Audu, it showed how acceptable the quality of products offered and professionals in NAMA were made of adding that the MD as an engineer has followed strictly the ICAO standards in order to raise the bar in the agency.

Audu remarked that within one year, Farouk was able to implement the agency’s approved Condition of Service, trained and retrained a lot of professionals and other staff of the agency.

“In terms of international courses, the Managing Director did not leave any stone unturned to ensure that every professional staff in the agency is well trained and he is achieving that”

“Today, every worker is happy, receiving arrears from the condition of service as their morale have been boosted by the Managing Director of NAMA.”

He noted that staff welfare had never been toyed with as it remained paramount in the administration of the NAMA boss.

Also speaking on the achievement of Engr. Farouk, the President of National Association of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE) Engr. Selzing Miri, commended the NAMA boss for the manner and way the issue of workers welfare was handled.

Miri, also noted, that he has performed well in the area of training, saying that NAMA will be an enviable organization to the world should he continue the way he has piloted the affairs of the organization. Miri however remarked that the burden on the agency arising from the revenue deduction was enormous but expressed hope that when given adequate fund, the NAMA boss will excel judging by what he achieved in one year.

On his part, the president of National Association of Air Traffic Communicators of Nigeria (NACAN) Alhaji Mohammed Sani, said in the past one year of Engr Farouk, that there was no tension, in-house fighting between unions and the agencies as he has brought every one together to foster unity and development.

Sani said the welfare of workers has been improved upon as workers were happy with the management as they were being carried along without discrimination, noting that relationships with the unions have improved.

According to Sani, for the first time in the history of NAMA, three courses for communications department were going on in the college of Aviation in Zaria. He commended the Farouk led team for encouraging local and international trainings even with the little resources available.