FG denies granting Enugu airport int’l status
Latest News Dec 1, 2009
By Tony Edike

[b]ENUGU—THE Federal Government said, yesterday that it has not given approval for upgrading of the Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu to an international status,  stressing that only four airports, including those in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt would remain as international airports for now.

The explanation came against the backdrop of recent media reports that the Federal Government had awarded a N4.13 billion contract for the upgrading of facilities in the airport to an international status, a development that was hailed by the people of the South East.

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu had also confirmed to newsmen in Enugu, that the contract which was approved by the Federal Executive Council in its recent meeting at Abuja, was aimed at granting the airport an international status.

But the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Babatunde Omotoba, while flagging-off the project at Enugu airport yesterday, said the contract was primarily to rehabilitate and upgrade facilities in the airport to meet aviation safety standard as well as to make provision for heavier aircrafts.[/b]He said,  “I can not confirm that Enugu airport has become an international airport for now.  We have four international airports, Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt but we have other airports that have started showing signs of strong traffic. That is Calabar, Enugu, Kaduna and Benin, and government is determined to ensure that available systems in the airports meet up with relevant standards.”

Stating that the contractor has within one year to complete the expansion work, which would also involve expanding the width of the runway to 60 meters, the Minister said that in the next one year, Enugu airport would have become a brand new airport with new runways.

Omotoba said that the airport would be shut to traffic by January next year and airlines that operate at the airport will use the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Imo State, as alternative.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/12/01/fg-denies-granting-enugu-airport-intl-status/

Look at this minster, Between Kano and Enugu, which of the cities have more traffic and business activities. I don't blame you, the North will just use and dump you tomorrow, the way they dumped Ernest Shonekan your brother.

Dem dey craze?

I think this is the last straw, Igbos have to stand up for what is theirs.

They refused to dredge the river naija. Now they don't want to uograde the Enugu international airport status.

Gold-mind:

Look at this minster, Between Kano and Enugu, which of the cities have more traffic and business activities. I don't blame you, the North will just use and dump you tomorrow, the way they dumped Ernest Shonekan your brother.

LOL just as they did Zik,Alex and co right after his presidency he was non important in Nigerian politics. Some people like to tribalize everything you dont get tired?

north isnt using anyone, individuals make their own choices

afam4eva:

They refused to dredge the river naija. Now they don't want to uograde the Enugu international airport status.

more like you refuse to allow them dredge the river niger

Gold-mind:

Look at this minster, Between Kano and Enugu, which of the cities have more traffic and business activities. I don't blame you, the North will just use and dump you tomorrow, the way they dumped Ernest Shonekan your brother.

what is the traffic like for enugu airport? any stats? how many flights land there a day/week
what is the traffics like for kano airport? any stats? how many flights land there a day/week?

what happened to the Akwa Ibom 'international' airport?

as soon as they approved it they canceled it? what?
what was the news i read yesterday?
na wa oooooo
so much for "plans"

whats next?

Gold-mind:

Look at this minster, Between Kano and Enugu, which of the cities have more traffic and business activities. I don't blame you, the North will just use and dump you tomorrow, the way they dumped Ernest Shonekan your brother.

Tribalism will not help us solve the problems of Nigeria. Hope you are a nigerian sha? How can you compare Enugu with Kano in terms of business activities? Kano has been a commercial city right from time while Enugu has been an administrative city, so stop making such comparison. You should be comparing cities like onitsha and Aba with Kano in terms of business activities and not Enugu. Enugu should be compared with places like Benin-city, ibadan and Kaduna. Though Kaduna was meant to be an administrative city, it has found itself between administration and business.

zebra:

Tribalism will not help us solve the problems of Nigeria. Hope you are a nigerian sha? How can you compare Enugu with Kano in terms of business activities? Kano has been a commercial city right from time while Enugu has been an administrative city, so stop making such comparison. You should be comparing cities like onitsha and Aba with Kano in terms of business activities and not Enugu. Enugu should be compared with places like Benin-city, ibadan and Kaduna. Though Kaduna was meant to be an administrative city, it has found itself between administration and business.

You can as well build an airport in the middle of Oshodi market.

Enugu is the most important city in the south East, it connects the whole south east.

International Airports in 9ija

lagos
abuja
kano
port harcourt
any other thing called airport is just "A GLORIFIED RUNWAY".People should not always tribalize issues of national importance, Even the four existing ones still do not compete with those in developed countries in terms of security and infastructure, Giving a runway and few office buildings an international status for political or tribal reason will not do us any good

afam4eva:

You can as well build an airport in the middle of Oshodi market.

Enugu is the most important city in the south East, it connects the whole south east.

Yes, Enugu is the most important city in the south-east, just as Kaduna is in the north, because both of them were regional capitals before. Kaduna too does not have an international airport, so what are you people saying?

Tell your brother never to compare business activities in Enugu with that of Kano to backup you people's support for an international airport in Enugu.

So enugu is more important to aba & onitsha,,ehn ehn

Please let us call a spade, a spade.

~Bluetooth:

International Airports in 9ija

lagos
abuja
kano
port harcourt
any other thing called airport is just "A GLORIFIED RUNWAY".People should not always tribalize issues of national importance, Even the four existing ones still do not compete with those in developed countries in terms of security and infastructure, Giving a runway and few office buildings an international status for political or tribal reason will not do us any good

i agree with the glorified runways. lol
akwa ibom for example. is that what they call an international airport? where are the proper terminals? where is the proper equipment that ATC should have?
even airlines like Air France were putting up with Port Harcourt, as bad as it was.

There is a huge passenger traffic in Port Harcourt unlike Enugu.

otokx:

There is a huge passenger traffic in Port Harcourt unlike Enugu.

true.
@ topic
nigeria needs to upgrade their existing airports before talking about international this and that.
so yes, enugu can wait, unless they want to use private funds to build their own top of the line international airport.
but i doubt enugu has that much traffic anyway like otokx said.

@Amaka

Some airlines tried to make Enugu lucrative by flying LAG - ENU - PH and PH - ENU - ABJ but in the end it just did not work. LAG - PH and PH - ABJ are the bum esp LAG - PH and PH - LAG. You have almost 5 airlines doing that route with about 4 frequencies daily.

Most of the international airports in Nigeria do not meet international standard, i wonder why they even call them international airports?? is it because planes fly to/fro other countries from there? That means Kaduna airport is an international one too, cos some years back they use to airlift Hajj pilgrims to/fro Jedda airport. International airports have standards more than what we are seeing here in Nigeria please.

otokx:

@Amaka

Some airlines tried to make Enugu lucrative by flying LAG - ENU - PH and PH - ENU - ABJ but in the end it just did not work. LAG - PH and PH - ABJ are the bum esp LAG - PH and PH - LAG. You have almost 5 airlines doing that route with about 4 frequencies daily.

true.

Why is enugu fighting for international status in the first instance?

^^^
lmao!!! i dont know ooooooo
how many people will that airport service?
they better stay a local airport oooo

It is not news to read that federal government of Nigeria would frown at the mention that Enugu airport has been granted International nomenclature for an airport. Enugu as the former regional capital deserves the type of airport found in Lagos and Abuja.

I can not believe the fact that a federal minister of aviation would even wobble on the issue of international status to Enugu while flagging off a bandage application to the Enugu airport. Anyway, as long as a person with the name Babatunde Omotoba or likewise cultural sounding names is the aviation minister, there shall be no international airport Igbo land. It is even insane to call the mechanic workshops with passable tarred road in Port Harcourt and international airport.

This is one of the reasons I am steaming off calling for disintegration of the cesspit called Nigeria. The people can decide what grade of airport to build without ethnically biased and prejudiced central government detecting to the people. I do not want or intend to fly into Lagos or Abuja when returning to my village from overseas but Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha, PH, Uyo or Asaba.

lol

Dede1:

It is not news to read that federal government of Nigeria would frown at the mention that Enugu airport has been granted International nomenclature for an airport. Enugu as the former regional capital deserves the type of airport found in Lagos and Abuja.

Are the Airports in the other former regional capitals (Kaduna, Ibadan & Benin) of international status?? Why tribalising the issue, as if it is only the igbos that are affected by this international airport thing.

So all this while,it was about igbos not having an international airport, Can you imagine?

^^^^ yes ooooo i can imagine lol

Maybe all 250 tribes should as for international airport in naija.

When would will start putting the nation first before tribe

^^^^
i really wanna ask a lot of people that.
hmmmm, i wonder.
_{*some silly clowns in this place*}

;d

The nectars of a flower will always attract a bee. How can you question Enugu airports viability based on its present passenger traffic? What is there to attract any serious airline or increase the passenger traffic as a result? Is it the obsolete infrastructures at Enugu, where the daily flight schedule is written on a black wooden board with white chalk because it lack such basic things like electronics notice board?

Enugu is the capital of a whole Igbo nation and still in 2009, there are no single international airport in the whole of south east and you think it’ okay. Before you hide behind tribal nonssense, tell me how many northerners/south westerners will be willing to travel from their states by bus or car Enugu to catch plane to London? Alternatively, how many of you will be quite all right to fly from New York to Enugu and then undertake another whole day journey by road to your states, navigating through bad road and armed robbers?

It easy make crass comments or dismissive what they are doing when the pinch is not inside your own shoes. Enugu airport will have the desired human traffic when the infrastructure and the incentive is there. I can’t imagine preferring to go to Lagos, Abuja, Kano or PH from London, if there are an international airport at Enugu, knowing that I will be safely home in a couple of hours after landing because it's close to home. It is common sense and economically wise to have at least an international airport at Enugu to take care of businesses in surrounding huge business towns like Nnewi, Aba, Onitsha and Awka. And will safe lives lost each year, when businessmen from these town are hijcked on the way by robber on their way to catch a flight from Lagos or Abuja. How can such idea be terriible or even open to a debate if not for crooked mind of those still fighting the psychological war with Ndigbo in Nigeria.

In a Biafra, do you think Igbos will wait for an Hausa man or Yoruba to tell them when they can make a progress like the rest of the world? I do not think so. That is the tragedy of Nigeria, we saw something good for our homeland that will improve the lives our people and bring job opportunities, and we cannot do it because our enemies will have to decide what we can have and what we cannot. That is a tragedy.

Eziachi:

The nectars of a flower will always attract a bee. How can you question Enugu airports security based on its present passenger traffic? What is their to attract the passenger traffic? Is it the obsolete infrastructures, where the daily flight schedule is written on a black wooden board with white chalk?

Enugu is the capital of a whole Igbo nation and still in 2009, there are no single international airport in the whole of south east and you think it’ okay. How many northerners/south westerners will be willing to travel from their states by bus or car Enugu to catch plane to London? Alternatively, how many of them will be quite all right to fly from New York to Enugu and then undertake another whole day journey by road to their states, navigating through bad road and armed robbers?

It easy make crass comments or dismissive when the pinch is not inside your own shoes. Enugu airport will have the desired human traffic when the infrastructure is there. I can’t imagine preferring to go to Lagos, Abuja, Kano or PH from London, if there are an international airport at Enugu, when I knew I will be home in a couple of hours safe after landing. It is common sense and economically wise to have at least an international airport at Enugu to take care of businesses in surrounding huge business towns like Nnewi, Aba, Onitsha and Awka.

In a Biafra, do you think Igbos will wait for an Hausa man or Yoruba to tell them when they can make a progress like the rest of the world? I do not think so. That is the tragedy of Nigeria, we saw something good for our homeland that will improve the lives our people and bring job opportunities, and we cannot do it because our enemies will decide what we can have and what we cannot. That is a tragedy.

you have a point there.

Eziachi:

The nectars of a flower will always attract a bee. How can you question Enugu airports viability based on its present passenger traffic? What is there to attract any serious airline or increase the passenger traffic as a result? Is it the obsolete infrastructures at Enugu, where the daily flight schedule is written on a black wooden board with white chalk because it lack such basic things like electronics notice board?

Enugu is the capital of a whole Igbo nation and still in 2009, there are no single international airport in the whole of south east and you think it’ okay. Before you hide behind tribal nonssense, tell me how many northerners/south westerners will be willing to travel from their states by bus or car Enugu to catch plane to London? Alternatively, how many of you will be quite all right to fly from New York to Enugu and then undertake another whole day journey by road to your states, navigating through bad road and armed robbers?

It easy make crass comments or dismissive what they are doing when the pinch is not inside your own shoes. Enugu airport will have the desired human traffic when the infrastructure and the incentive is there. I can’t imagine preferring to go to Lagos, Abuja, Kano or PH from London, if there are an international airport at Enugu, knowing that I will be safely home in a couple of hours after landing because it's close to home. It is common sense and economically wise to have at least an international airport at Enugu to take care of businesses in surrounding huge business towns like Nnewi, Aba, Onitsha and Awka. And will safe lives lost each year, when businessmen from these town are hijcked on the way by robber on their way to catch a flight from Lagos or Abuja. How can such idea be terriible or even open to a debate if not for crooked mind of those still fighting the psychological war with Ndigbo in Nigeria.

In a Biafra, do you think Igbos will wait for an Hausa man or Yoruba to tell them when they can make a progress like the rest of the world? I do not think so. That is the tragedy of Nigeria, we saw something good for our homeland that will improve the lives our people and bring job opportunities, and we cannot do it because our enemies will have to decide what we can have and what we cannot. That is a tragedy.

I don't think Omotoba started this remember Kema Chikwe too was there a few years ago. He admitted that some airports (including Enugu) are showing signs of improvements in flight operations hence the decision to upgrade facilities at the airport. Moreso, i think it is not a minister's sole prerogative to give an airport the "international" status.