The Minister of State
for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said he was ready to resign if the Abuja
airport runway is not fixed within the six weeks slated for completion
of work on the facility. Sirika also disclosed that the Murtala Muhammed
Airport, Lagos is in line for certification in May while that of Abuja
is expected to be the next in line for certification, December 2017.
Sirika spoke yesterday when he and the Minister of Information, Culture
and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, met with the apex aviation think-tank
comprising highly respected aviation veterans.
He said work on the Abuja airport was going smoothly, stressing that he
staked his reputation and everything he has to ensure that the facility
is ready by April 19.
The minister explained that the decision to close the runway for repair
was a painful one, stressing that safety was what the President looked
at to agree that the runway be closed for total repairs.
His words: “I will resign if the deadline for completion of that runway
is not finished in six weeks. I put all my integrity and commitment to
get that runway ready in six weeks. I told people that this may rank as
another eighth wonder of the world. “Already, they have done three weeks
of work on the runway and work has reached about 50 per cent of work. I
told anybody that if we must close the runway, it has to be for six
weeks.
We cut down the time from 13 weeks to six weeks. People are working
night and day to complete this job.” Sirika explained that to make the
job faster, the Federal Government chartered two cargo airplanes that
gulped N150 million to transport equipment that would make the job
faster.
The minister denied report in the media (not in New Telegraph) that
government had extended the completion of the job by another four weeks,
describing it as false.
“That we allow the runway to deteriorate so badly showed
irresponsibility on the part of people whom should have taken action to
remedy the situation.
“How can we allow the Abuja airport to deteriorate so badly? That is
highly irresponsible of us. I knew that one day, that runway would be
closed.The entire architecture of the runway was almost gone. Mr.
President was particularly worried about the situation and it was very
easy to allow for the shutdown of the facility,” he said. Speaking at
the event, Mohammed refuted reports in a section of the media that the
ongoing reconstruction of the runway has been extended from six to 18
weeks.
The minister said the six-week timeline for the reopening of the airport
would be adhered to. “Let me use this opportunity to debunk the
erroneous report making the rounds that the closure of the Abuja airport
has been extended to 18 weeks. This is not true. The six-week timeline
for the closure remains. After six weeks, the Abuja airport will be
reopened.
The remaining work on the runway will not necessitate the closure of the
airport,” he said. Mohammed said the reconstruction of the Abuja
airport runway is nearing its halfway mark, adding: “We are on course to
reopen the Abuja airport for flight operations on schedule.”
He said the government would continue to engage Nigerians, including the
critical stakeholders in the aviation industry, and give them
up-to-date and factual information concerning the closure of the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport.
No comments