The federal government has approved new staff conditions of service for the Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N).

Spokesman for the agency, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi said in a statement in Lagos that the approval is contained in a letter dated June, 25 2019 and sent to the bureau from the office of the head of civil service of the federation.

“This is the first time the Bureau will be having its own condition of service since it was established as an autonomous agency 12 years ago,” he said.

Prior to the approval, AIB was using the conditions of service of a sister agency while it struggled to have its own.

In his reaction, the commissioner and chief executive officer of AIB, Mr. Akin Olateru, expressed appreciation to the head of service, the ministry of transportation, the unions and the staff of the agency for the landmark achievement and stressed the management’s commitment to improving staff welfare.

‘‘This is one of the proofs that we value our staff and are committed to a robust welfare package for them. Since we came onboard, we have relentlessly been pursuing accelerated capacity development, provision of conducive environment for working and a world standard working conditions for our staff,’’ he said.

Olateru charged the staff to reciprocate the gesture by redoubling their efforts in discharging their duties and responsibilities and also support the management in its bid to repositioning the Bureau to meet global standards in accident investigation.

“This is very important for the entire staff of the Bureau towards improving their welfare and a motivation in discharging their best at their various duties to enhance air safety,” he added.

AIB is the agency charged with the responsibility of investigating air accidents and serious incidents in Nigeria and anywhere it is invited with a view to preventing future occurrence.

The Bureau was established via the Civil Aviation Act 2006 but became operational in 2007.

Prior to that time, it was a department in the then federal ministry of aviation.