Buhari orders takeover of Nigerian airspace from Ghana

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday
ordered the Ministry of Aviation to immediately
start the process of securing the management of
the Nigerian airspace over the Gulf of Guinea from
Ghana.
He also directed the ministry to look into the
possibility of getting a national carrier for the
country as soon as possible.
The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Binta
Bello, told State House correspondents, that Buhari
handed down the directives when she and her
team briefed him of their activities at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Bello said Ghana had been maintaining the
airspace over the Gulf of Guinea since 1945.
She said the President’s directive for the takeover
by Nigeria came at a time when some other
neighbouring countries were making moves to take
over their own airspace too.
“We have 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,”
Bello said.
She added that the President also raised concerns
over the country’s inability to have a national
carrier.
To that end, Bello, said Buhari directed her ministry
to look at the possibility of having a national
carrier as soon as possible.
“The President is quite concerned about lack of
national carrier for now and he has directed the
ministry to look into the possibility of having a
national carrier as soon as possible,” she added.
The Permanent Secretary added that she briefed
the President of the four international terminal
buildings that are being constructed across the
country.
She said the buildings would be ready for
commissioning at the end of the first quarter of
2016.
She said, “We briefed the President of the four
international terminal buildings that are being
constructed using the China NEXIM Bank loan.
“They are very big projects that are being funded
100 per cent by China NEXIM Bank and DMO. Work
is progressing very well.
“The terminals will be ready for commissioning at
the end of the first quarter of 2016. At the
completion of the projects, Nigerians will
appreciate the works that have been put into them.
“The capacity of the terminals would have been
expanded to contain big aircraft, such as the A380
Air Bus and there will be a lot of commercial
activities that are obtainable in other international
airports.”
Bello said she also briefed Buhari on the
challenges domestic airlines were facing, despite
the Federal Government’s N300bn intervention
fund.
She regretted that despite the intervention, many of
the airlines are still heavily indebted to regulatory
agencies.
She reassured Nigerians and the international
community, that Nigeria’s airspace is safe and has
just recorded a score of over 90 per cent by the
International Civil Aviation Organisation.