Nigerian cabin crew graduate reports NCAA DG, Najomo, to Irish aviation authority

A Nigerian cabin crew graduate has stirred controversy after lodging a formal complaint against the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Chris Najomo, with the Irish Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), accusing him of failing to provide automatic employment to licensed cabin crew members in Nigeria.

The incident was disclosed in a post by NCAA spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, who shared details of the unexpected email sent by the unnamed complainant. According to Achimugu, the cabin crew member not only sent the complaint to the Irish CAA but also copied him directly in the email.

“This guy wrote the Irish Civil Aviation Authority and copied me. He is reporting the DG of NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, to the Irish CAA for not getting automatic employment for him (author of the email) and other cabin crew graduates. His email paints Nigeria very badly, and he curses the DGCA,” Achimugu wrote.

Achimugu revealed that the email expressed deep frustration with the state of aviation employment in Nigeria and included strong, emotionally charged language aimed at the NCAA and its leadership. The complainant’s message reportedly included threats of protests and harsh criticism of the Nigerian aviation system.

“He left his name and phone number. I don’t know what he expects the Irish CAA to do, why he is indicting the DGCA, or why I have been copied,” Achimugu added. “The email goes on to mention protests, using very strong words.”

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While the Irish CAA and the NCAA both function as national regulators responsible for the oversight and safety of civil aviation in their respective countries, employment decisions within the industry—particularly for cabin crew—are made solely by individual airline operators, not regulatory bodies.

Industry professionals have emphasized that aviation authorities like the NCAA do not serve as recruitment agencies and are not mandated to provide employment for licensed personnel. Instead, their role is to ensure regulatory compliance, safety, and oversight of aviation operations.

The incident underscores the persistent employment challenges in Nigeria’s aviation industry, where a growing number of licensed professionals face limited job opportunities due to capacity constraints.

With 13 domestic airlines and about 23 international carriers operating within Nigeria, experts say the demand for aviation personnel still falls short of the growing supply of graduates. They caution that expecting immediate or automatic employment after training is “simply unrealistic” given the industry’s size and market realities.

Despite the emotional outburst, observers see the episode as another reflection of the broader challenges facing Nigeria’s aviation workforce, particularly among newly certified professionals seeking to enter a highly competitive and capacity-limited industry.

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