Aviation: Senator Orji Kalu Alleges Some Pilots Smoke Indian Hemp Before Flying Aircrafts

They won’t tell you. They don’t need a pilot to fly. It’s very frightening and it will discourage people from flying the Nigerian aircraft,” he said.

Mr Goje, additionally a former governor of Gombe State, urged the Senate Committee on Aviation to intensify oversight of regulatory agencies such as the NCAA and NAMA to ensure compliance and accountability..

“So I reflect the vital thing is for the committee to seriously do an oversight as requested if the NCAA, the NAMA, are not doing that. Nigeria must protect to support the runways, he added.

In his contribution, Gombe Central Senator, Danjuma Goje, described the state of Nigeria’s aviation sector as “frightening,” warning that revealing the complete extent of the problems could discourage air travellers.

“Like the previous speaker, I’m not going into details of the problems of the allies because I think it’s also not good to discuss these kinds of problems in detail, because some of these things will discourage humans. Any small mistake will head to loss of lives,” he said.

While presenting his motion earlier, Mr Abdulfatai referenced a status by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) on the runway overrun involving an Air Peace Boeing 737-500 at Port Harcourt International Airport on 22 June.

He said the report revealed substantial lapses in safety standards, infrastructure management, and operational compliance across the sector.

The senator expressed concern that runway-related incidents, near misses, and other safety issues were becoming increasingly widespread and could erode audience confidence if not urgently addressed.

He thus urged the Senate to steer its Committee on Aviation to attract relevant stakeholders, including the NSIB, NCAA, FAAN, NAMA, and airline operators, to make sure the full implementation of safety recommendations and report assist within six weeks.

Kebbi North Senator, Yahaya Abdullahi, however, proposed an additional prayer to the motion mandating the committee to conduct a thorough inquiry into Mr Kalu’s allegations and other related issues in the aviation industry.

The prayer received overwhelming support and was approved by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session.

“We should not handle it using levity. I have witnessed, I have seen by myself, I have come to fly, I told my pilots, I said, No, no, no, I don’t believe you’re typical today. Their job of the committee is to go and find out and report back, and then we take vital action.

Abia North Senator, Orji Kalu, on Wednesday, alleged that some pilots flying aircraft in Nigeria smoke Indian hemp and get ‘high’ before operating flights.

He said this was one of the important reasons many planes run off the runway while landing.

Mr Kalu, who once owned the now-defunct SLOK Airlines, made the maintain during plenary as senators debated a motion on the need to strengthen aviation safety in Nigeria.

The motion was sponsored by the Oyo North senator, Buhari Abdulfatai.

Mr Kalu, a former Abia Status governor, criticised aviation regulatory agencies for allegedly failing to properly track pilots, claiming that unsatisfactory oversight had led to unsafe practices.

“I feel that the authorities guiding these pilots, some of them are remarkably lousy. Some of them use Indian hemp. Because any aircraft that is of a novel generation doesn’t demand a pilot. If you go close to them, you will smell it. ”

The senator also urged the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, to build sure that airport runways are regularly maintained, noting that some are in inferior condition.

“So, the NCAA must come fund to its duty. Landing and take-off are purely automatic.

“So most of these pilots are so careless. I understand he’s going to do a solid job with the members of the committee. Some of the runways are not in good shape. He attributed incidents to pilot negligence and drug use.

“Mention that aircraft, most of them, 737-500, have an automatic landing gear system. And I commend the Senate for the prayer being adopted that a comprehensive study should be made to unravel what is happening within that sector.

“I know it’s (committee) headed by someone who is extremely, extremely diligent and consistent, a consummate legislator including experience who studied from the House of Reps to the Senate. So all these agencies must come back home to look later than these pilots, and what do you call them, and the cabin team, because some of them take this Indian hemp like cigarettes. I’ve on countless occasions stopped to fly given that of the inadequacy of the pilots’ preparation. Yes, it’s true. We don’t play with aviation as it’s a issue of life and death. Some of them smoke Indian hemp, and some of them are not properly audited by the authorities.

“I am telling you what I know, as the NCAA and the NAMA and other authorities are not looking after these pilots and checking them for drugs, on the sport assessment. Some of the pilots are not equipped. What is needed to land the plane is a computer and, autopilot. Extremely, very important. Because some of them are high, they are not going to do this thing. They’re not doing it because it is dangerous, and you see them walking into the airplane, nobody checks their blood pressure, nobody checks anything, nothing, nothing,” he said.

Mr Kalu said up-to-date aircraft, such as Boeing 737-500, are primarily automated and should rarely come across landing problems. It doesn’t need a pilot to land the plane. If we do that, then we’ll be injuring our economy, injuring the lives of our people. You have to go endorse home. Given that, again, the Minister of Aviation must be forced to do a quarterly (review) of the runway. Please do a wonderful job and submit your declare within four weeks,” Mr Jibrin said.

The post Aviation: Senator Orji Kalu Alleges Some Pilots Smoke Indian Hemp Before Flying Aircrafts appeared first on Information Nigeria.

Source: Aviation: Senator Orji Kalu Alleges Some Pilots Smoke Indian Hemp Before Flying Aircrafts