Abuja Airport receives more passengers after poll

The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, continued to experience an upsurge of arriving passengers on Tuesday, days after the presidential and National Assembly elections, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

NAN also observed that the checkin counters of airlines as well as the departure lounges of the airport were scanty, while the arrival hall was busy.

The Station Manager of Max Air, Abdullahi Saroke, said the traffic had been more on arrival, explaining that there were few outbound passengers from Abuja since Sunday.

Saroke noted that the increase in inbound passengers into Abuja was due to the large number of people that travelled for the Feb. 23 elections.

He said Max Air had only processed two outbound flights as at noon, adding that traffic might not peak until the presidential election result is fully announced.

“Traffic has been more on the arrival because of inbound passengers, who are most likely to be people that travelled for the elections,” he said.

Also, Arik Air staff, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that few passengers had booked their flights for Tuesday.

He said only two aircraft had departed Abuja with few passengers on board.

An airport official also corroborated the story that more inbound flights had been recorded on domestic routes.

According to the official, the traffic is generally low because there are also very few flights.

A passenger, Alhaji Hussein Abdul, said he had travelled to Gombe to participate in the elections, adding that he waited to know the outcome of the election before returning to Abuja.

Abdul said he was more interested in the National Assembly elections in his state, and thanked God for a successfully and peaceful polls.

He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies for the peaceful poll.

Abdul however called for improvement in future elections, especially with regard to the timely arrival of electoral materials to polling centres, and functionality of card readers.

According to him, we can get it right by learning from the hitches recorded during the just concluded elections, to have more credible elections subsequently.

“I am happy with the results I saw in my state, but I cannot comment on the result of the presidential poll yet, until the final result is announced,” he said.

Also, Mrs Ebere Chidozie, a civil servant, said she travelled to Imo for the election, and expressed confidence that there would be peace at the end irrespective of the outcome.

Chidozie appealed to all political parties to accept the outcome of the election and seek redress where necessary, instead of resorting to violence.

“My own is that these people should just maintain peace, no matter what the final result is, because the unity of Nigeria is very important. I also want to plead with politicians to find ways of working together for the progress of Nigeria, instead of pursuing party and personal interest,” she said. (NAN)