Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barrister Festus Keyamo has disclosed that the construction of the second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, will be completed within the next 12 months.
During a tour at the Abuja airport on Tuesday, the minister said the government had started the payment of compensation to communities affected by the second runway project.
“You know, I had to go and meet the FCT (Federal Capital Territory) minister and get that project off the ground in terms of clearing the obstacles on the way. So, as of today, the report I have is that the money we paid to FCT for them to pay the settlers there has started being paid, and they have started moving.
“This is a project Nigerians have been waiting for forever. It has been a controversial project since Obasanjo’s time. Well, thankfully, this government is set to commence that project and it is one of the projects that is a low-hanging fruit for us and we think it is extremely important. You remember the other time there was a problem with the Abuja runway, we all had to go to Kaduna, you know, in a very inconvenient manner, to board our plane.
“So, the second runway for a gateway like Abuja for the capital city is extremely important and I pray that all agencies of government, the National Assembly, and the presidency, will give us the support to make sure we deliver that project within 12 months”, he said.
Keyamo also stressed that the controversial national carrier, Nigeria Air project, remained suspended, adding that he would not overlook any potential red flags associated with it.
He further stated that the concerns of Nigerians, including all concerned government agencies, would not be sidelined.
According to the minister, the Nigeria Air project will not commence until all documents signed before, during, and after the alleged launch of the project are thoroughly scrutinised.
He said: “Well, the next step will be for the Federal Government as a body, not just me as a minister, to look at all the reports that I’m putting before them to make a final decision. So, no final decision has been taken on all of these, but I won’t be here because it would be very irresponsible of me as a minister to come in and agencies of governments are raising red flags here and there, and I will keep quiet.
“I’m not talking about even Nigerians complaining, agencies of government are raising red flags about both projects. And I, as a functionary of the government, as a minister, will then wave all of those red flags away.
“People were already putting machinery in motion to commit themselves. So, it is to save them and save us.
“Don’t commit! Hold on. Don’t commit anything so that your commitments will not go into these adventures. Wait; let us look at it all. Like I said before, be responsive to the feelings of Nigerians, to the red flags that have been raised by certain agencies of government, and then we make a final decision”.
Keyamo expressed his dissatisfaction with the deteriorating condition of certain airport facilities and committed to reinstating a culture of maintenance within the airport.
He further said: “Now, on a visit to most of our airports, those are the problems we are facing. Even with this new facility, I understand only four of the 10 chillers are working. Now, what is the immediate solution? I have told them that my mentality toward some of these things is that, for example, most of those lifts are obsolete instead of fixing them and fixing them, and every two months they will bring a bill to fix them, I have told them to get rid of them. And by the time you fix them three times, you are almost buying a new one. Let us buy high-quality lifts to promote a new brand here.
“The ones I saw here are not good enough. I know about lifts. They are not good enough. So, I will not be here and see them go and buy substandard lifts again. The ones that can take high traffic and we see them all over the world. Lifts are not something you just buy locally. There are good brands all over the world.
“So, I have told them to get rid of these lifts. I won’t spend money repairing them every two months. That is my attitude toward them. Let’s be patient”.
According to Keyamo, the country needs to develop a maintenance culture.
“If we cannot maintain these things internally because these things are more like consumables in quotes, I’m using that word advisedly in quotes, because they are things you almost use almost every day and you see every day and they are the optics that people see. Let us get people who can maintain them and we can hold them responsible”, he noted.
