Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Ministry of Aviation to take over from Ghana, the management of the Nigerian airspace in the Gulf of Guinea.
The
president also expressed concern about the absence of a national
carrier and directed the ministry to look into the possibility of having
one as soon as possible.
He gave the directive at the State House in Abuja yesterday while receiving a briefing from top officials of the ministry led by Permanent Secretary Hajiya Binta Bello.
The
permanent secretary later told State House journalists that Buhari
ordered her ministry to begin the process of securing the management of
the Nigerian airspace which, she noted, Ghana had been managing since
1945.
The permanent secretary hinted that Togo and
Benin Republic had equally concluded arrangements to take over their
airspaces from Ghana.
“We’ve a directive by the
president to start the process of securing the management of the
Nigerian airspace over the Gulf of Guinea which Ghana has been
maintaining since 1945, and there is a move on the ground by Togo and
Republic of Benin to take over their own airspace from Ghana,” she said.
Bello
said the president also ordered the ministry to expedite action on the
establishment of a new national airline for the country.
According to the permanent secretary, the president is worried that Nigeria does not have a national air carrier.
She
said Buhari was told that domestic airlines were hugely indebted to
regulatory agencies under despite the federal government’s N300 billion
intervention fund designed to boost their operations.
The
permanent secretary expressed hope that the four state-of-the-art
airport terminals being constructed with Chinese Bank loan would be
ready by first quarter of next year.
Presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina later in a statement quoted Buhari as expressing concern about the enormous debt profile of the nation’s aviation sector.
The president was also quoted as assuring that his government would act quickly to redress the situation.
