President Bola Tinubu has approved the relocation of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development to the Presidency, in a decisive move aimed at reinforcing the agency’s independence.
The directive, announced on March 14, 2026, effectively ends a long-running debate over the bureau’s institutional autonomy and operational effectiveness.
Under the new arrangement, the NSIB will report through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), aligning its structure with global best practices, including the model adopted by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The President’s decision overrides the earlier position of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who had maintained that the bureau should remain within the ministry to benefit from sector-specific technical expertise.
A key factor behind the relocation is the NSIB’s expanded mandate under the 2022 Act, which empowers the agency to investigate accidents across multiple modes of transportation, including aviation, maritime, rail, and road.
Stakeholders had argued that housing such a multi-sectoral investigative body within a single ministry was inappropriate and could undermine its neutrality.
By moving the bureau to the Presidency, the Federal Government aims to eliminate potential institutional bias and ensure that the NSIB can carry out investigations without interference from any ministry it may be required to probe.
The restructuring was strongly backed by Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, who noted that the previous framework limited the bureau’s transparency and overall effectiveness.