Tinubu Relocates NSIB From Aviation Ministry To Presidency

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the repositioning of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) by overruling the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and moving the Bureau to the Presidency.
This ends months of disagreements over where the Bureau should be domiciled for optimal performance.
While stakeholders and lawmakers argued that it should be moved out of the Aviation ministry to ensure operational independence, Keyamo insisted it should remain under his ministry.
However, Tinubu agreed that the Bureau would perform its duties more effectively while reporting directly to the Presidency.
In a letter dated November 3, last year, which only recently became public, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Usman, recommended that the Bureau be moved out of the ministry, in alignment with global best practices, citing accident investigation bodies, such as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States (US), which reports directly to the President.
She stated: “Mr. President is invited to note that the Bureau’s effectiveness is currently limited by its placement under the Ministry of Aviation, as outlined in Section 66, Page A1136 of the Establishment Act.
“This structure hampers the NSIB’s ability to fully execute its mandate due to the limitation of placing it under the supervision of the Ministry of Aviation when it has oversight not only over air safety accident investigations, but also marine, rail and tracked vehicle accidents in Nigeria.
“This is also at odds with global best practice, where leading accident investigation bodies, such as the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, operate as autonomous agencies directly reporting to the highest level of government.
“This structure ensures independence, credibility and efficiency in accident investigation processes.
“The proposed repositioning of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau to report to the Presidency will allow the necessary enforcement of safety regulations across all transportation sectors and remove it from the current limited sectoral ministerial oversight.
“It will improve transparency, accountability and public trust in investigative findings. This restructuring supports Your Excellency’s Renewed Hope Agenda of improved governance for effective service delivery.
“In light of the above considerations, Mr. President is, therefore, invited to consider that the NSIB be repositioned as an agency reporting to the Presidency through the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“This strategic transition will rectify the current limitation of placing it under the supervision of the Ministry of Aviation, when it has oversight not only over air safety accident investigations, but also marine, rail and tracked vehicle accidents in Nigeria.”
In a letter dated March 5, this year, through his Private Secretary, Damilola Aderemi, Tinibu conveyed his approval of Usman’s request, signalling the end of the Bureau’s operations under the Ministry of Aviation.
NSIB was created under the NSIB Establishment Act 2022, replacing the former Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which previously handled only aviation accident investigations.
Following its establishment, the Bureau’s investigation role was expanded to include probing into accidents and incidents in all modes of transportation; hence the clamour for it to be moved from the Ministry of Aviation.