Nigeria has hosted an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors of the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA), bringing together aviation safety authorities from Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
The three-day meeting, held in Abuja, focused on strengthening the agency’s administrative, financial and operational capacity to effectively respond to the region’s growing aviation safety investigation needs.
Key issues considered at the meeting included the recruitment of a new Commissioner, member states’ financial contributions and outstanding obligations, as well as strategies for strengthening human-resource capacity within the agency.
The Board also reviewed the implementation of directives issued by the Banjul Accord Group Council of Ministers.
During the meeting, Engr. Jorge Manuel Rodrigues of Cabo Verde was elected as the new Chairperson of the Board.
The meeting provided an opportunity for member states to strengthen regional cooperation and develop strategies for improving aviation accident and serious incident investigation across the region.
Nigeria, through the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, reaffirmed its commitment to supporting BAGAIA and strengthening regional collaboration in aviation safety.
The Bureau said effective accident and serious-incident investigations were essential to identifying safety lessons, improving aviation systems and preventing the recurrence of similar occurrences.
The meeting highlighted the commitment of member states to building a stronger, better-coordinated regional aviation safety investigation system capable of meeting international standards and addressing the growing demands of the West African aviation sector.