The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has revealed plans to start issuing licences for the use of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), also known as drones, for both commercial and private use in the country.

Speaking to the press in Abuja on Thursday, Dele Sasegbon, Director of general aviation at NCAA said: “We have proposed regulations already. For the integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system, we have to do it seamlessly.”

According to him, individuals and companies in Nigeria have expressed interests in using drones for agriculture, monitoring pipelines and storage tanks in its oil and gas industry, and in power-line inspections.

He said the authority has taken cognizance of these growing requests and has therefore issued safety guidelines for the certification and operations of the unmanned aircraft. Under the guidelines, no government agency, organization or individual will launch an RPA in the Nigerian airspace for any purpose without obtaining requisite approvals/permit from the NCAA and the Office of National Security Adviser (NSA).

Sasegbon added that the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), is also taking steps to bring drones into the country’s airspace system.

Oando Plc is the first organization to be issued the Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones (RPAS) Operators Certificate (ROC), in Nigeria.

Anita Fatunji