Nigeria will establish a joint committee pairing the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) with the Nigerian Air Force, after a service aircraft crashed at Igbokoda in Ondo State and pushed the country's civil-military aviation safety gap onto the political agenda.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo and Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke agreed to the structure on Wednesday, during a condolence visit Keyamo paid to the Air Chief over the crash. The minister had already contacted the NCAA's Director-General and opened a direct line between the regulator and the Chief of Air Staff before the meeting.

The committee's remit covers airworthiness, certification, training and capacity building — areas where the military has historically operated outside the civil regulatory framework. Keyamo framed the crash as evidence that the separation carries real safety costs.

"There were civilians in that air crash and when there's an air crash in the civil aviation too, there can be military personnel. And so, it is important that we cooperate in the area of safety," Keyamo said.

What does the agreement actually change?

For now, it changes process rather than regulation. The two sides have agreed to a technical partnership that respects the statutory responsibilities of each institution — the NCAA keeps its civil oversight mandate, the Air Force keeps military authority. What is new is the formal channel between them.

Keyamo pointed out the dependency already exists in practice: Air Force operations rely on civil aviation infrastructure, including air traffic control. The plan converts that operational reliance into structured cooperation on:

• Airworthiness and certification
• Joint professional training
• Capacity building for Air Force personnel
• Information sharing between civil and military safety systems
• Two-way exchange of technical expertise

"We have decided that we will cooperate in terms of capacity building," Keyamo said, adding that civil aviation training slots would open to Air Force personnel. "There is no reason why we cannot take some names from the Air Force. We have a lot of training we go for, so there is no reason why we cannot."

The minister described the arrangement as "a kind of cross-pollination and symbiotic relationship we have decided to build for the safety of the lives of Nigerians."

How did the Air Force respond?

Aneke welcomed the framework and confirmed that discussions on a formal technical cooperation structure had already begun. Under the proposal, civil aviation personnel would contribute to Air Force safety systems — particularly in airworthiness and certification — while military specialists would share expertise with the civil sector where needed.

"We have both agreed that we need to move the aviation industry, whether military or civil, to a higher level," Aneke said.

He tied the offer of training places directly to national safety outcomes, arguing that improved Air Force capacity strengthens aviation safety across the board. "We are serving the same government; we are protecting the same Nigerians. So we are just a blend of each other," the Air Chief said.

What remains unresolved?

The announcement is an agreement in principle. No committee membership, timeline or budget has been published, and the framework's scope — whether it extends to accident investigation, military airworthiness oversight or training alone — will determine its practical weight. Nigeria's military fleet operates largely outside NCAA certification, and Wednesday's statements do not alter that statutory boundary.

The Igbokoda crash itself remains under no announced civil investigation, given the aircraft's military status. Keyamo called the accident a national tragedy and commended the sacrifices of Air Force personnel: "We value the Air Force. We value the efforts of the gallant men and women of the Air Force and what they do for the country."

The joint NCAA–Air Force committee, once constituted, is expected to become the standing vehicle for information sharing, technical cooperation and harmonised safety standards between Nigeria's two aviation authorities.