The Nation Newspaper

Tag: airport

  • Airport: FG launches harmonised deparure/arrival cards

    Airport: FG launches harmonised deparure/arrival cards

    The Federal Government on Thursday in Kaduna launched a harmonised departure/arrival cards for air travellers in the country.

    The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau while launching the document, said the new cards would replace the multiple cards which hitherto existed at Nigerian airports.

    He said “Federal Government has chosen the Kaduna International Airport to formally launch this unique security document to the travelling public.

    “These cards will replace the multiplicity of cards that hitherto existed and will take care of the interest of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Customs, Port Health Services, NDLEA and others.”

    He explained that foreigners were expected to fill the departure/arrival cards, while Nigerians would fill the departure card only.

    Dambazau said that the document had been scanned and stored in a data bank to be shared with relevant stakeholders, while travel records of passengers would be secure.

    He added that the new measure was part of government’s policy on “Ease of doing business in Nigeria” in line with international best practices.

    Earlier, the NIS Comptroller-General, Mr Muhammad Babandede, said the service
    had put in place all the necessary logistics to implement the policy.

    He said the NIS had strengthened its synergy with relevant agencies like Customs and NDLEA to ensure efficient service delivery.

    He urged officers and men of the NIS, particularly those at the airports, to be professional and diligent in the‎ discharge of their duties.

  • Abuja Airport closure: Shame of a nation

    SIR: Since the idea to close the Abuja International Airport was first mooted, and the alternative palliative measures hurriedly being lined out to ensure the smooth completion of the repair of the ONLY airport runway, coupled with the furore that ensued among Nigerians for and against the whole affair; I have been enveloped in deep thinking about the place of ordinary Nigerian citizens in the scheme of things generally.

    For instance, it took the unfortunate death of a serving minister of state, Mr. James Ocholi, courtesy of the potholes-infested Abuja-Kaduna highway, for the same road to be given a sudden facelift way back in 2016. And that, had the minister miraculously survived the accident, nothing would have been done to reduce the wasteful human carnage that would have continued unabated!

    What a shame that one of the busiest highways in the country, and the gateway to the capital city from the far Northern states, had to be repaired at such supersonic speed in order to impress and satisfy the yearnings of a particular class in the society. As it appears, those for whom it is being undertaken care less about the huge amount being committed to the project, but for the less-privileged the amount would go a long way in meeting their numerous needs like water supply, food, medicine, etc.

    Pitifully, the same highway bedevilled by all sorts of criminals that have been terrorising innocent citizens on a daily basis has all of a sudden come under the limelight with 24/7 joint security watch, all for the sake of the VIPs.  And all the potholes and craters that have been causing avoidable killings, maiming and damaging of vehicles have suddenly disappeared because the crème of the society would be using the renovated Kaduna Airport, albeit temporarily.

    We are no doubt happy that some part of Kaduna, the former capital of Northern Nigeria; a state that was subjugated and degraded by years of bad governance is now wearing a new look. That the Kaduna western bypass, otherwise known as the Nnamdi Azikiwe Road, reported to have had over 701 potholes for many years, has been repaired with newly installed solar street lights to boot, remains however as a source of worry to me personally and other lower-class Nigerians. This unfortunate class stratification and subjugation engenders nothing but inequality and injustice which must be redressed and done away with for the sake of peace and tranquility in Nigeria.

    This development keeps me thinking because Kaduna-to-Kano high-way and many similar highways across the country that are currently in terrible shape, but which unfortunately will not be used by the high and mighty in the foreseeable future, will remain neglected and will continue to remain death-traps, consuming the hardworking breadwinners who daily ply the roads in search of daily means of survival for their families.

    The new realisation to the effect that N10 billion earlier budgeted and captured in 2016 budget was never utilised by FERMA to repair roads, according to reports, for reason best known to them is also depressing reality of the shameful situation of Nigeria. Does that mean that Nigeria’s ordinary poor only have value during elections, political campaign and routine Immunisations?

    I’m not happy at all for my inability  to decipher what really made me and members of my social class less important than the so-called VIPs to warrant extreme concern for them and total neglect  of my immediate basic needs as an equal and bona fide  citizen of Nigeria.

    This politics of Abuja Airport closure reminds me of the famous saying by Charles Dickens in his famous fiction-Animal Farm – that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”  This is true in the contemporary Nigerian context, most unfortunately.

    Indeed, the closure of the only gateway to the nation’s capital just to allow for the repair of a single airport runway would remain one of the many shames of our nation. And the on-going frantic effort by Federal Government to provide alternative measures to ease the suffering of only the VIPs is, to say the least, most crude and a shameless display of crass insensitivity to the plight of the ordinary and hardworking citizens of this country.

     

    • Kabir Tsakuwa,

    Kano

  • Shocking find by Osinbajo at the Lagos Airport

    Shocking find by Osinbajo at the Lagos Airport

    If officials of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, knew of Thursday’s surprise visit by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, they probably would have ensured that he didn’t get to see the true state of disrepair of facilities at the nation’s gateway.

    Osinbajo and his team however caught the officials unawares  with the unscheduled visit and insisted on seeing what was ‘working’ and what was not ‘working’ at the airport.

    The Ag. President checked out the toilets, noticed some of the non-functioning carousels in the arrival hall and went to Immigration officials to check the progress of plans to grant visa on arrivals to foreign investors.

    He observed the non-functioning air-conditioners and chillers in the Departure and Arrival halls, the escalators and elevators that are in a state of disrepair among several others.

    Speaking briefly with the press after inspecting several parts at the airport for over an hour, Prof. Osinbajo said  “as part of our work on the Ease of Doing Business, on making the environment friendly, not just for local businesses but also for those who want to come and do business in Nigeria, the airport obviously is one of the major places where we need to ensure that facilities are working and that things are being run properly.”

    “ So we have looked around, we’ve seen some of the equipments. There are many many things that need to be done, many things that need to be corrected, and we have to work on them as quickly as possible.”

    He was accompanied on the trip by the Aviation Minister of State Hadi Sirika.

  • Activists hail Fed Govt for renovating Abuja airport

    A Non-Governmental Organisation, the Initiative for Leadership and Economic Watch in Nigeria (ILEWN), has lauded the Federal Government for renovating the Abuja Airport runway.

    It urged Nigerians to be patient with the exercise.

    The group lauded the courage and foresight of President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika, and Managing Director of the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, in renovating the dilapidated runway.

    At a news conference yesterday, ILEWN’s Executive Director Splendour Agbonkpolor, said the group is sure the painful sacrifice by Nigerians, both rich and poor, will give Nigeria’s capital city a world class airport that guarantees the safety of all.

    His words: “We urge Nigerians and foreigners alike to remain calm as the security agencies have been duly mobilised with a clear brief to maintain law and order and to protect lives during this period of increased traffic.

    “FAAN should extend same courtesy of standardisation to all the airports in Nigeria to ensure seamless flow of traffic, both within Nigeria and internationally.

    “Nigeria will come out of this phase the better for it, as we will continue to hold our government to their mandate of working to deliver the best possible services to our people.

    “We also praise FAAN for working with security agencies to ensure maximum security of life and valuables on the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.”

  • Abuja airport runway, disaster waiting to happen, Minister warns

    The Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has warned that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, runway has totally failed and is a disaster waiting to happen.

    Sirika gave the warning when he received the Coalition for Civil Society Group on Friday in Abuja.

    He said the government was determine to ensure safety and avoid disaster in the sector, adding that closure of the airport for six week remained the only viable option.

    The minister said that many critical stakeholders in the industry including Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN) had agreed with the decision of the government.

    According to him, the Nigerian Society of Engineers was the only body that had opposed the decision.

    Sirika, however, said that the aerodrome engineers in the society agreed with government’s decision to close the airport to avert disaster.

    “The Abuja airport runway is completely damaged, the entire structure and the architecture is gone and the runway has failed and it is just a disaster waiting to happen.

    “No matter what it is, I will not sit back and fold my arms and watch disaster unfold while I superintend.

    “I believe that it is an executive function which should be carried out and I believe also that we should be responsible for our actions and inactions.

    “If I don’t do anything it becomes inaction and will be equal to disaster.

    “If I act appropriately to save it, I will be meeting the expectations of the person who appointed me and of course the expectation of the Nigerian people that we serve,’’ he said.
    The minister asked the members of civil society groups with engineering background to examine the runway and possibly carry out integrity test on it to ascertain its condition.

    He said that different options recommended by different stakeholders were not good options to be considered based on the deplorable nature of the runway.

    According to him, the path we have chosen is a path that for us is the only way to rehabilitate that runway.

    “It is a job of six months with the procurement start to finish but within these six months, there will be six weeks closure of the runway.

    “We will close it and we will be working day and night to ensure that we deliver the project and it will be six weeks and six weeks no more.

    “We have done some study and found out that, 90 per cent of people who are coming into Abuja may probably travel only once within six weeks, and may be only one per cent travel every other day or daily.

    “Another two per cent who travel every week but some may not even travel at all in six weeks.

    “This statistic is generous enough to say that 90 per cent travel once in six week and this statistic is proven and we chose Kaduna as alternate airport,’’ he said.

    The minister also called on the civil society groups to always cross check their fact before commenting on important national issues.

    He refuted the claim by the Centre for Joint Action Against Poverty and Underdevelopment in Africa (CJAAPDA), a civil society organisation that he was one of the underperforming ministers in the country.

    Earlier, the President of the group, Mr Bassey Atuk, told the minister that their visit was to find out the happenings in the aviation sector, stressing that the sector was critical to the national development.

    Etuk said the group also demanded explanation on the basis for the N5.8 billion for the rehabilitation and repair of the Abuja airport runway and diversion of flight to Kaduna.

    He, however, pledged the group’s support for the government on the closure of the Abuja airport for the repair of its runway.

    “We came to find out because the Ministry of Aviation is critical to us and our people yearn to know what is happening in the sector.

    “Perhaps, the minister should educate, not just the civil society but the generality of Nigerian people on the controversial N5.8 billion for the repair of Abuja Airport runway.

    “We also need to know the programmes and projects of the ministry in 2017 budget about the deplorable state of our airports,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • ‘Abuja Airport closure’ll not affect NOG 2017’

    The Federal Ministry of Transportation has said the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for repairs will not affect the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference slated for February 27  and to end on March 2.

    In a notice to industry stakeholders, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Alh. Sabiu Zakari, said the essential maintenance works would commence on March 8, 2017, one week after NOG 2017 closes.

    Over 1500 government representatives and industry players have already confirmed their attendance to the 2017 NOG, including the Federal Ministry of Power, Arco, Century Group, Delta Afrik, Exxon, Honeywell and Oando.

  • Abuja Airport doesn’t need second runway, says Aviation Roundtable

    Industry safety group, Aviation Roundtable Safety Initiative (ART), yesterday said calls for a second runway at the Abuja Airport were unnecessary.

    It said the  current runway is under-utilised.

    The group took swipe at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for its failure to ensure that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), complied with the Runway Maintenance Programme for the Abuja Airport.

    Its,  Chairman, Gbenga Olowo said the ART did a holistic assessment of the decision  to shut down the Abuja airport with the  verdict that the there was no going back on  the need to overhaul the facility.

    He said: “The decision as to whether a runway should be closed or not rests within the purview of NCAA as provided for in the Act establishing the Regulatory Agency and not the Executive arm of government. Unfortunately, constant political interference by the executive arm of government, the ministry, continues to usurp the role of NCAA and has hampered its effectiveness.

    “We therefore challenge the NCAA to be alive to its responsibility of safety oversight by conducting a thorough assessment of the status of all the runways at the various airports.”

  • Senate fails to stop closure of Abuja airport

    The Senate on Tuesday failed to stop the planned closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for the rehabilitation of the runway of the airport.

    At a resumed hearing on the proposed closure on Tuesday, the Senate said that it would have preferred segmented repairs of the runway to avoid a total closure of the airport.

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided over Senate plenary told the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola and Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika that although “Senate prefers segmented repairs of the runway to avoid total closure, the Ministry of Aviation could take a decision based on advice by stakeholders.”

    Ekweremadu added, “Final decision is yours and you will also take responsibility. While you take final decision, endeavour to take note of our concerns and the concerns of other stakeholder.

    “Also take into consideration the position of local and foreign airlines that they would have preferred continued use of the airport while repair is going on.”

    While Sirika and Fashola insisted that there was no alternative to shutting down the airport to ensure proper rehabilitation of the runway, the Nigeria Society of Engineer (NSE) disagreed.

    The NSE said that its meeting with the relevant agencies confirmed that it is possible to carry out the proposed reconstruction of the runway without shutting down the airport.

    Julius Berger, scheduled to handle the repair works, backed the government’s position that the airport be shut.

    The construction giant told the Senate that the only way to ensure holistic repairs was to shut down the airport.

     

  • Kano Airport runway okay, says Minister

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said the runway and taxi pavement of the Aminu Kano International Airport are in perfect shape.

    Sirika, who stated this yesterday during a facility tour to the airport, noted that the existing runway had the capacity to carry all types of aircraft.

    “The runway is okay, it is in good condition, we just inspected it and we are happy with it,” he said.

    The minister said the ongoing new terminal project at the airport was at an advanced stage, though the contractor did not give a definite date of completion.

    “The terminal building project is a very good job and I think that with a little more push, we should be there and it will be ready for completion.

    “We will discuss the completion date with the contractor and make it available to you.

    “This is purely a federal airport so there is no need for any kind of contribution from the state government. This tour of the facility is to ascertain the level of work done at the airport,” he added.

  • Two drug suspects held at airport

    Two drug suspects held at airport

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday arrested a man for allegedly inserting five wraps of cocaine inside his anus at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
    Ndukwe Daniel, 43, from Abia State, who lives in Athens excreted five wraps of cocaine weighing 215 grammes which tested positive for narcotic ingestion while undergoing observation by NDLEA investigators.
    According to NDLEA preliminary investigation suggests that the suspect had targeted the Christmas holiday to smuggle cocaine out of the country but his plan was thwarted.
    Daniel claimed that he was asked to smuggle the drug for N250,000.
    “I have lived in Athens for over a decade. I lost my job last year and things have been very bad financially. I came to Nigeria to visit my wife and two children. I had no plan to smuggle drugs until a friend called me from Athens that I should bring five wraps of cocaine. Since it is only five wraps I felt it will be an easy task.
    “He sent someone to give me the wraps in Umuahia. I inserted the five wraps in my anus in Lagos but the scanning machine was able to detect it. I feel very sad,” he said.
    Also yesterday, NDLEA arrested an electronics importer on his way to Hong Kong for allegedly ingesting cocaine.
    He was arrested during screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline flight to Hong Kong.
    The total weight of cocaine seized from the two suspects is 1.150kgs.
    Lagos airport NDLEA Commander Ahmadu Garba identified the suspect as Achebe Chuks David, 37. He said the suspect excreted 45 wraps of cocaine weighing 935 grammes.
    David said he was expecting N5 million from his partners.
    He said: “I sell electronics at Alaba Market. This is my first time of dealing in drugs. My friend in Hong Kong introduced me to cocaine smuggling. He sent the drug to me at Alaba by a young man. The cocaine was in a black polythene bag containing plantain and pineapples. I swallowed the 45 wraps in my toilet without my wife’s knowledge. I was promised the sum of five million naira which I had wanted to use in importing electronics. At the airport, they told me that scanning machine has indicated that I have drugs on me. That was how I was arrested.”
    Achebe hails from Anambra State and is married with a daughter.
    “Both suspects tested positive for narcotic ingestion and while under observation, they expelled wraps of cocaine which they had wanted to smuggle out of the country. The suspects are currently under investigation,” Ahmadu said.
    NDLEA’s Chairman/Chief Executive, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd) said those seeking to get rich through drug trafficking would end up in prison.
    He said: “This is a warning to drug traffickers that the agency is determined to detect all hidden drugs and prosecute offenders.
    “There are control measures in place to detect narcotics at all exit and entry points. We shall continue to improve on our strategies in line with our mission of providing a safe and healthy society for all.”