DG NCAA, Harold Demuren Fired

Courtesy: thewillnigeria.com

The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren has been fired from his top job by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

A statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation said his sack takes effect from March 12, 2013.

“Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has approved the removal of Dr. Harold Olusegun Demuren from Office as the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) with effect from 12th March 2013. 


“This is consequent to a careful consideration of Dr. Demuren’s unsatisfactory response to the numerous concerns of stakeholders in the Aviation Sector. Mr. President wishes him well in his future endeavours, the Monday night (local time) statement said.

Nigeria’s main airport in Lagos has suffered series of embarrassing power cuts lately and it is believed Demuren may have been removed partly because of this.
Demuren, a foreign trained aviation aeronautics engineer, and the Senate have been engaged in a long drawn battle following the Dana Airlines plane crash on June 03, 2012, that killed over 140 passengers including the entire crew.

The Senate Committee on Aviation led by Senator Hope Uzodinma had blamed the crash on the NCAA’s poor safety oversight even though preliminary investigations conducted by the Accident Investigations Bureau (AIB) did not find the agency guilty of any wrongdoing.

Demuren completed his first tenure as head of the NCAA in January, and has been credited with repositioning Nigeria’s troubled aviation sector, which earned the country the United States highest Category One aviation safety status.