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.
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