S’East Govs Seek FG’s Intervention on Enugu Airport

Governors of the Southeast states at the weekend lamented the deplorable state of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, and asked for the urgent intervention of the federal government in order to avert impending disaster.

The governors specifically drew the federal government’s attention to the deplorable state of the runway, the runway lights and the tarmac, and therefore called on the Minister of State for Aviation to visit the airport for an on-the-spot assessment with the aim of addressing the problems facing the airport.

Briefing journalists at the end of a closed door meeting at the Government House in Enugu, the Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Dave Umahi, made it clear that the facilities at the airport were beginning to make the place unsafe.

According to him, “The place is not safe for our people. The recently installed runway light is not working; a situation where no flight can land at the airport beyond 6:30p.m. is totally out of order.

“The Aviation Minister should quickly visit the place and take care of the situation. There’s also a building around there that was destroyed by wind; ordinarily, it shouldn’t take the federal government more than N15 million to fix it.”

Umahi said the meeting, which was attended by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and the host, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, also requested that urgent steps be taken for the reactivation of the cargo section of the airport.

The Forum, according to him, also received an interim report from the South East Consultative Committee on Health, which was set up to facilitate the establishment of world class health facilities in each state of the region.

He said the Forum noted the caliber of health and other professionals in the committee, and commended them for the progress so far, urging them to work towards ensuring the transformation of the zone into a medical tourist destination in Nigeria.

The governors also received presentation from the South East Region Development Fund (SENDEF), the financial arm of SEREDEC, and urged them to channel all development plans in the South-east region through the secretariat of the forum.