Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, says that the aviation sector was in total collapse when she assumed duty as minister and has made efforts to reposition the sector to meet global standards.

The minister’s comment came as she responded to questions from the senate committee on aviation on Tuesday.

Oduah was invited by the committee to explain the possible causes of the incessant air accidents in the aviation sector in recent times.

She explained that on resumption of office as the minster, she discovered that the safety and security critical equipment and installations were unserviceable and unavailable. The minister stressed that she met completely decade infrastructure at the airport. “The dilapidated nature of the infrastructure was horrible,” she stated.

The law makers directed questions to officials of the different aviation parastatals. They asked question relating to the age of the aircrafts, who authorises aircraft to fly and the maximum age of a pilot by NCAA rule.

The Director General of NCAA, Fola Akinkuotu, said that by law, pilots were allowed to fly till the age of 65.