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Tag: Abuja airport

  • No fire at Abuja Airport, says FAAN

    -Confirms minor incident at new terminal’s equipment room

    Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said yesterday that there was no fire at the newly commissioned terminal of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.

    Its spokesperson, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said what people mistook for a fire incident was the residue of powder sprayed by the system seen in the cloud, which was occasioned by the in- built fire detection and protection system at the new terminal.

    Yakubu said the terminal building was designed and built with the protection system, which comes up when it senses high ambient temperature and consequently sprays fire extinguishing agent.

    In a statement issued in Lagos, FAAN said: “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria hereby notifies the general public of a minor incident that occurred at the equipment room of the new international terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 3:00pm today.

    “The incident was however swiftly curtailed by the in-built fire detection and protection system at the new terminal that triggered automatically.

    “The building was designed and built with this protection system. The system comes up when it senses high ambient temperatures and sprays fire extinguishing agent. The residue of powder sprayed by the system was seen in the cloud, there was no fire at all.

    “The authority will like to reassure passengers and the general public that there is no cause for panic, as the incident has been put under control and our fire men are clearing the remnant of powder after which operations will resume.”

    Only last week, the departure hall of Sam Mbakwe Cargo International Airport (SMICA), Owerri, was gutted by fire.

    The incident temporarily disrupted operations at the terminal.

  • Abuja airport records low traffic on Christmas eve

    Many domestic airlines at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja experienced a drop in traffic of passengers and aircraft movement on the eve of Christmas, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

    When NAN visited the airport on Monday, booking and check-in counters of all the airlines were very scanty compared to other days.

    NAN also observed that only Air Peace, Max Air and Arik Air counters were a little busy while others like Dana, Aero, Overland, Azman were scanty.

    The Station Manager of Max Air in Abuja, Mr Abdullahi Saroke, said that high traffic was recorded in the last two days, adding that eve of Christmas was not always busy especially if it falls on the beginning of the week.

    Saroke said the traffic was heavy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, adding that most airlines recorded upsurge and had full flights.

    He said that many airlines were carrying half load on many routes as at Monday morning, adding that Max Air had only two full flights to Maiduguri and Yola.

    According to him, Max Air has been carrying full load since Friday to all destinations but “we only had full flights to Yola and Maiduguri today but in and out of Abuja and Lagos has been half load”.

    A staff of Arik, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the peak days of the season.

    He said that all Arik flights for the last three days were fully booked while its flights for Monday were not full.

    NAN reports that the air fare has been doubled by all the domestic airlines in the last three days compared to what they were charging about few weeks ago.

    A check by NAN on the price list of the various airlines revealed that they now charge between N36,000 and N70,000 on economy and N70,000 to N90,000 on business class depending on the time and destination.

    Air fare charged by airlines before now ranges from N19,000 to N41,000 depending on the destination and time of booking.

  • Buhari inaugurates 15m capacity terminal at Abuja airport

    •$69.3m required to complete projects

    President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the new terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

    The new terminal designed to handle 15 million passengers in a year is the second in the series of airport terminals inaugurated from the projects funded by the China-Exim bank loan of $500 million with a counterpart funding of $100 million from the Debt Management Office.

    From the $100 million counterpart funding, the government has only paid $30.7 million, leaving a debt of $69.3 million.

    The $69.3 million is expected to boost the speedy completion of the outstanding project, which includes the new terminal in Kano and Lagos.

    Read also: ‘Armed bandits killed 5 persons in Zamfara’

    Speaking at inauguration in Abuja yesterday, the President said: “With the commissioning of this terminal, Nigeria is moving towards achieving and meeting global aviation standards in facilitation, passenger processing and service delivery in tandem with international best practices.

    “This administration recognises aviation as a catalyst for economic growth and as such, will continue to encourage and support the actualisation of projects that will place Nigerian airports among the best in the world.

    “This event today, reflects government’s deliberate policy to sustain the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure. We are gradually closing the infrastructural deficit bedevilling our country.

    “I am happy to note the progress being made in both the airports and sea ports on the implementation of the Executive Order on the Ease of Doing Business. Government officials manning these gateways are to sustain the momentum and ensure travellers in and out of the country have the best of experience as a necessary complement to the ultra-modern terminal.”

    He added: “Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Terminal is the first airport terminal to be connected to rail transport system in the country and indeed in the region. This has provided passengers and other airport users with a choice in the mode of transport to and from the city centre

    The President promised to make Nigeria the aviation hub in the region.

    “I wish to assure you that government remains committed to developing Nigeria into regional air transportation hub and thereby assuming its leadership in the aviation sub sector in Africa,” Buhari said.

    Read also: Badeh’s killing probe on, says Air Force

    He hailed Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika, Government of the Peoples Republic of China, CCECC and the China Exim Bank for their financial support and the various roles they played, which led to the successful completion of the terminal project.

    Sirika urged the government to approve the outstanding $69.3 million counterpart needed to complete the terminal in Kano and Lagos.

    He said: “From political and economic perspectives, this airport is very strategic to Nigeria not only because it is the gateway to the nation’s capital but also because it is the second busiest airport in the country and the fastest growing in passenger traffic in West and Central Africa, with an average growth rate of eight per cent, where the world average growth is 5.8 per cent. The airport processed 5,709,012 passengers in 2017. This volume equals to about 13 times the total number of passengers recorded by Ghana as a country.”

    On the capacity of the terminal and some of its facilities, Sirika said: “The terminal has annual passenger capacity of 15 million covering a space of approximately 56,000m2. It also has the following facilities as well as capabilities; 72 check-in counters, five  baggage collection carousels, 28 immigration desks at arrival and 16 at departure, eight security screening points, eight passenger boarding bridges, walkway to link the FCT metro rail, additional apron for remote parking of aircraft and link way to domestic wing.”

     

     

  • EFCC arrests Lebanese with $2m cash at Abuja airport

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a Lebanese, Abbas Lakis, with $2million cash.

    Lakis, who was picked up at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja penultimate Friday, is being investigated for money laundering.

    According to a statement by the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, the Lebanese was intercepted following an intelligence report that he had the cash on him.

    The statement said the “intelligence report indicated that the undeclared huge sums of monies were aboard the Egypt Airline bringing him from  Kano Airport en route Lebanon.

    The statement said: “At the point of arrest, a thorough search on his luggage uncovered $2,104,936, £163, 740, and €144,680.

    “ Other currencies found with Lakis include Riyal 391, CHF 3,420, Lira 435, £109,000, Dirhams 10,135,   ¥10,000  and Riyal10, in his possession.

    “He will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.”

    Meanwhile, the EFCC has arraigned one Bello Na’ Allah Yabo, a Deputy Director, Accounts, Ministry of Police Affairs, before Justice A.I. Ogunmoye of the State High Court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.

    He was arraigned on a 13-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraudulent diversion of funds and money laundering to the tune of N145,342,063.

    The offence is contrary to Sections 383(1) and 390(5) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2009.

    A statement by EFCC said: “Yabo is facing trial alongside his company, Imrana Ventures, for allegedly using his position as a former Pay Officer, Nigeria Police Force, Ekiti State, in 2015 to divert to his personal use, money meant as the emoluments of police officers in the state. The defendant allegedly concealed the proceeds of crime through his company account domiciled in Unity Bank.”

    ”One of the counts reads: ‘That you, Bello Na’Allah Yabo, a.k.a.  Imrana Ventures, between February 3 and 5, 2015, in Ado-Ekiti, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently converted to your use the sum of N21,899,600.00 (Twenty- One Million, Eight Hundred and Ninety-Nine Thousand, Six Hundred Naira), property of the Nigeria Police Force.’

    ”The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him. In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, George Chia-Yakua, asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand the defendant in prison custody.

    ”The defence counsel, Y.C, Maikyau, prayed the court to move an application for bail dated November 14, 2018 on behalf of his client.

    ”However, the prosecution counsel opposed the bail application on the grounds that the defendant had not placed any material before the court to warrant being granted the bail.

    ”He, therefore, prayed the court to reject the defendant’s application for bail in totality.

    Justice Ogunmoye, after listening to both counsels, adjourned the matter to December 6, 2018 for ruling on the bail application and January 22 and 23, 2019 for commencement of trial.

    The defendant was remanded in Federal Prison, Ado- Ekiti.

  • EFCC seizes N1.1b gold at Abuja airport, goes after four suspects

    •Impounds passport, retrieves €112,000 from suspect

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has seized gold worth about $3, 131, 412.39 (N1, 127, 308, 460.39) being allegedly exported to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, illegally.

    It named one Abba Ali Yahaya as the brain behind the deal.

    Apart from impounding his passport, about €112,000 undeclared by Abba, has also been forfeited over alleged violation of the nation’s Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

    The precious metal was handed over to the suspect by a syndicate of illegal miners operating in Zamfara State.

    The anti-graft agency is already on the trail of four members of the said syndicate said to have perfected ways of beating security agencies at the nation’s airports.

    According to a document sighted by our correspondent, the suspect, who admitted to be a courier, was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by EFCC operatives led by a crack female detective.

    It was gathered that the suspect had escaped being caught by all the screening machines at the airport.

    The fact-sheet indicated that “the suspect was caught following a tip off after he had managed to pass through all the screening machines without being caught.

    “He was in possession of N1.1b worth of gold while travelling alone to meet with the Dubai end of a ring of buyers of illegal miners. Being illegally in possession of the gold was a violation of Minerals and Mines Act.

    “Abba had €112, 000 on him which he hid from Customs and he was caught with 19 ATM cards. Upon interrogation, he admitted he is a courier and he fingered a businessman. Our detectives later discovered that the suspect only implicated the businessman as a decoy.

    “The EFCC is already on the trail of four suspects connected with massive illegal mining activities in Zamfara and exportation of mines. Preliminary evidence has linked the suspect with a miner in Zamfara.

    “We have confiscated the passport of the suspect, seized the gold and the €112,000 he strapped into his body will be 100 per cent automatically forfeited to the Federal Government as contained in the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

    “The EFCC will file application before a Federal High Court for the forfeiture of the undeclared cash.  The suspect is empowered by law to travel with about $10,000.

    “So far, Abba has been released on bail pending the conclusion of investigation.”

    As at press time, it was gathered that a probe of how the suspect scaled through the scanning points without being detected was ongoing.

    A government source added: “It was embarrassing that we have many screening and scanning machines being managed by different security agencies but they were unable to detect the suspect.

    “We are suspecting connivance with the suspect by some of the officials at different points. It is likely that the syndicate sending the suspect to Dubai might have penetrated the security opperators at the airport.

    “At the end of our discreet investigation, we will be able to find out how he beat the security network at the airport.”

     

  • Abuja airport new terminal to begin operation October

    •President inspects facility

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday inspected the level of work done at the new terminal building at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

    The building being constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is expected to the completed by August, it was learnt.

    The President was taken on a tour of the facilities by the Minister of State for Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika.

    Buhari inspected the building in company of some of his cabinet members after inaugurating the FCT light rail project.

    The President who rode to the airport on the newly commissioned train left the airport by 12:13pm in a helicopter marked NAF-541.

    Among those who accompanied him were Secretary to Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole,  Minister of Interior Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, Minister of Budget and National Planning Senator Udoma Udoma and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.

    On the impact of the rail on the aviation sector, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika said: “It will make things easy and it will be seamless. People will come from the light rail and straight into the aircraft and vice versa and it will make transportation more efficient and that is the whole essence of transportation by air.

    “It will also allow people to connect to their businesses and work places in much faster time than before.

    “It will reduce the pressure on our roads, ease traffic congestion on all the arteries that leads to airports around the world. So, Abuja would be a classical example of multi-modern integration and transportation, which eases things and makes them better.”

    On the date the project would be completed, the Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma said: “We are pressing the contractor to finish in August so that we can start operations in October and all the stakeholders are working together to ensure this.”

     

  • Dignitaries rise for Ekwueme in Abuja, Enugu

    Dignitaries rise for Ekwueme in Abuja, Enugu

    Many dignitaries were at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja yesterday to honour the Second Republic Vice President Alex Ekwueme.

    A Parade of honour, led by the police, was held at the Presidential Wing of the airport for the deceased, who  died in London on November 19, 2017

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said Ekwueme was committed to selfless service to the nation, West Africa region, Africa and the world.

    Ekwueme, he noted, had timeless ideals of integrity, loyalty and kindness to all.

    He was optimistic that the vision and sacrifice of the late Ekwueme for the nation will not be in vain.

    Osinbajo said “As we receive the body of the first elected Vice President of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme (GCON), this morning, we are reminded of his selfless service to nation, to our region, to Africa and indeed the world.

    “We are reminded of his commitment of the timeless ideals of integrity, of loyalty and kindness to all.

    “We thank the almighty God for giving us 85 glorious years of Dr. Alex Ekwueme.

    “When he was asked what his vision was for the county, he said, ‘I will want to see Nigeria be a nation not just a country.’

    “Those words tell us how committed he was to the unity of this country and I pray that in death and as we remember him, that this will not only encourage us but also cement the relationship between all of the people and nationalities of this country, so that we become and remain one.

    “We thank the almighty God for his family and for all of us who he left behind and we pray that his great wishes for this nation and all that he sacrificed for will not be in vain.” he said

    Among those present at the event are the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of the Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

    Others are Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Nkem Okeke, representative of Former President, Shehu Shagari, Hon. Aminu Shagari, Senator Andy Uba who represents Ekwueme’s constituency in the Senate.

    Also present were members of the Federal Executive Council including the Ministers of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige.

    Others Ministers are Education, Adamu Adamu, Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

    Also present were representatives of Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, and Inspector General of Police, Corp Marshal Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboyi Oyeyemi, representatives of Civil Defence, Customs as well as other paramilitary services.

    The ceremony, which began at 12:19, included inspection of the parade by Vice President, Osinbajo, movement of the corpse in by pall bearers (Ebony) at 12:26, handing and taking over of corpse by body of Commissioners of Police at 20:30, guard of honour on the corpse 20:31 (rendition of the National Anthem), Vice President Osinbajo and family representative, Pastor Goodheart Ekwueme, joining the parade train and escorting the corpse to Enugu bound plane at 12:39.

     

    Others dignitaries present included,  Former Chief of General Staff Ebitu Okiwe, former governor of Anambra Peter Obi, former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Ebele Okeke, FCT Commissioner of Police, Sadiq Bello, AIG Federal Operations, Tayo Lekan, Permanent secretaries serving retired, heads of government agencies.

     

  • Elevators at Abuja airport undergoing repairs, says FAAN

    Elevators at Abuja airport undergoing repairs, says FAAN

    THE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said yesterday the elevators at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja are undergoing repairs.

    The reaction came after some of the aged, sick and disabled passengers complained of the difficulty of accessing the boarding area and the aircraft.

    Reacting to the complaint, the General Manager, Corporate Communications of FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu said: “The Escalators at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport are all functioning.

    “The lift that is unserviceable is being serviced right now and it will be available for use again very soon”.

    Also reacting to the complaints, the Chairman of Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN) in Abuja, Emmanuel Kerri, said: “There are serviceable elevators at the Wing B but it are not working at the moment.

    “In Wing D, we don’t have challenge of escalators or elevator because the boarding area is not upstairs.”

    On how they convey the disabled and others who need assistance to boarding area, Kerri said: “We use the baggage area which is downstairs to convey the handicap and we don’t have problem conveying people to the aircraft.

    “Any sick person, aged or disabled person is boarded through the baggage area and the airlines are aware of that.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Abuja airport’s $5.8m safety laboratory resuscitated

    The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has resuscitated its $5.8 million Flight Safety Laboratory at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.

    The agency also trained its workers on the handling of equipment. The laboratory was built in 2012.

    AIB’s Commissioner Akin Olateru spoke in Abuja yesterday at a training facilitated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Singaporean government.

    He said the laboratory is ready.

    Olateru said AIB’s management, in 2011, signed a contract with a Canadian firm, CAE Flightscape, to install state-of-the-art equipment in its new laboratory, adding that the laboratory was designed to download information from Flight Data Recorder (FDR), Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and other on-board instruments used for accurate accident investigation.

    Olateru said the facility was used to download the flight recorders of Associated Airlines’ aircraft crash of October 2013 with the assistance of the manufacturers.

    This, he said, was done even without full payment.

    He, however, regretted that the facility had been dormant since 2013 due to lack of in-house human capacity to manage it.

    His words: “The laboratory was not working when I took over as the commissioner. I made it a priority to resuscitate the laboratory considering its importance to the discharge of AIB’s responsibilities. I galvanised all necessary quarters to achieve this mission and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Singaporean government agreed to help.

    “First, I spurred our ICT compound to get the laboratory running, which they successfully did. So, I can confidently tell you that the laboratory is working. However, we need the in-house capacity to manage it and maximise its benefits. This is where ICAO came in.”

    Olateru insisted that the laboratory’s optimum performance was central to the bureau’s contribution to safety in Nigeria, and the West African sub-region, noting that the management is aware of ICAO’s expectation from AIB.

    He said the agency is determined to meet these expectations, adding that in order to achieve this, AIB is determined to meet the expectations of Nigerians to have early release of accident reports.

    “One of my cardinal programmes since I resumed as the chief executive here is to ensure that all outstanding reports are released at the earliest possible time. This is one critical way of affecting aviation safety positively.

    “To this end, we are engaging all necessary quarters to ensure that our investigators, who have not received any training since their employment about four years ago, get the best possible training,” he added.

  • Abuja Airport closure and road safety

    There are some lessons from the six weeks closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the diversion of traffic to the Kaduna Airport which are very vital for the promotion of safety on Nigerian roads.

    Prior to the decision of the Federal Government to divert traffic to Kaduna Airport, the Abuja-Kaduna road was dotted with different degrees of potholes which have claimed many lives. Many concerned citizens called on the immediate past and the current government to intervene and repair the roads. Despite the death of a serving federal minister and seven medical doctors on the road, no commendable repair was done.

    However, immediately the Federal Government decided to divert traffic to Kaduna Airport, several things happened on the Abuja-Kaduna road which I want to quickly mention in this article for posterity sake.

    • In less than 1 month, all the pot-holes on the stretch of the Abuja-Kaduna dual carriage road were properly filled to the admiration of the road users.
    • The dangerous clustering of articulated vehicles on the Abuja-Kaduna road drastically reduced.
    • The unsafe parking, loading and off-loading on the roadsides faded away.
    • There was a massive presence of Officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Nigeria Police, Civil Defence and Joint Patrol Teams of strategic points on the road.
    • The rate of reckless driving and over speeding on the road drastically reduced because of the consciousness of the presence of Traffic and Security Agencies on the road.
    • There was a near zero rate of accident on the Abuja-Kaduna road throughout the period of the diversion.
    • The rate of crime on the road faded to near zero.

    If it is possible for the government to accomplish these fetes on Abuja-Kaduna road, it is also possible to accomplish same on all the roads in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    It is, however, disheartening that immediately the Abuja Airport was re-opened with traffic moved back to Abuja, most of the security agencies disappeared from the Abuja-Kaduna road and the camps constructed for their operations were deserted. I however, use this forum to praise the visionary Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, who in his wisdom and passion for the safety of lives and valuable properties, decided to retain all the newly constructed operation posts with the vehicles and officers intact.

    Other agencies that have deserted the road must be told that the lives of the people still plying the Abuja-Kaduna road is still as precious as the lives of the people that plied the road during the six weeks diversion of traffic to Kaduna Airport.

    The Federal Government should also replicate the Abuja-Kaduna road magic in other black spots that are prone to road traffic crashes and criminal activities in all the states in Nigeria. I hereby say a big kudos to the Federal Government and call for more proactive actions to ensure the safety of the irreparable lives and valuable properties of Nigerians and other residents.