Airlines – New Status Symbol For State Governors by Kazeem Akintunde
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has invited Minister of Works, Dave Umahi and his counterpart in Aviation, Festus Keyamo, to Osun State on December 16, to lay the foundation of a brand-new airport for the state to be sited at Ede. For those who may not know, Ede is where Adeleke hails from.
That invitation is already a subject of serious political tension in the state, as a former Governor of the State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, had, in 2012, laid the foundation for an airport for the state, but in Ido-Osun. In fact, works has already started at the proposed airport and over N12 billion expended on it.
When Adeleke came into power, he set up a technical committee headed by Lai Oriowo to look at the suitability of Ido-Osun for the airport project. The committee, while submitting it’s report recently, recommended that the airport should be moved to Ede for a plethora of reasons. A section of the report reads:
“Findings of the committee on the Ido Osun site are as follows: i. The total area of the site was approximately estimated to be 3,871,806.34 square meters (387.18 Ha). ii. The existing runway which is 1.67km did not meet the required standard. The minimum runway for a standard airport is 4.8km. The runway length required for class 4E Aircraft is 3600 x 45m and an additional minimum distance of 750 meters on both approaches for the Runway End Safety Area/Clearway for instrument runway is 5,100m against the available dimension of 3,250m. iii. Citing the runway at this site (Old Aerodrome Site) therefore, will require relocation of Adeleke Secondary School and also the displacement of some settlements at the other end of the site.
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The report went further to state: “The existing culvert of 65 metres transversely located at different sections of the running route and open/fabricated drainage already constructed are not ideal for an Airport. The required length of the culvert across the runway should be 150m against 65m to cover both the runway width and its strip. v. The uncompleted Terminal Building, Control Tower Building, and Fire and Rescue buildings are wrongly located concerning the runway. Access to the Airport is limited to only Osogbo – Ede Road; vii. The layout shows that less than 120m is the available land at 04-approach threshold to Adeleke Secondary School fence for the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) and at the other approach 22, the available land is 150 from threshold 22 to Oshogbo, and Ede Bye-pass”.
Now, except reason prevails, the state may be thrown into turmoil as indigenes of Ido-Osun have vowed to reject the state government’s decision. Already, indigenes of Ido-Osun, last week, staged a peaceful protest to condemn the planned relocation to the governor’s home town. The protesters, led by youths under the aegis of Ido-Osun Youth Forum, rejected the explanations offered by the state government that the current site was no longer good enough due to encroachment by people who have erected structures on the land.
In spite of the fact that over N12 billion has been spent by the state government in the last 12 years on the airport at Ido-Osun, Adeleke is bent on giving the state a brand new airport in Ede. Would the airport add to the development of the state or would it be another white-elephant project? Is having an airport in Ede a top priority for the people of Osun State? We shall return to that shortly.
In Enugu State, Governor Peter Mbah is pursuing the establishment of an airline for the state that would “generate funds” into the purse of the state government with all the seriousness it deserves. In actual fact, that is the only business concern that caught the fancy of the Governor. In 2023, he told indigenes of the state to give him 15 months to establish an airline that would be the pride of the people of the state. And in keeping to his words, he has set aside the sum of N41 billion in the 2025 budget for the acquisition of four aircrafts for his proposed Enugu Air. The new airline, Mbah believes, would rival Ibom Air, owned by Akwa Ibom State Government and Cally Air, owned by Cross Rivers State. In that part of Nigeria, having an airline is now a status symbol for state governors.
Mbah is also planning on concessioning the Akanu Ibiam International Airport to a private entity, while considering the construction of a brand-new international cargo terminal altogether. The question that Mbah should provide an answer to is whether he has gone through the books of both Ibom Air and Cally Air to know whether those airlines are making profits or he is just embarking on a wild goose chase.
It appears that in Nigeria now, the establishment of an airport in each of the 36 states capital is seen as a priority by state governors, whereas whether those airports would be viable and would be able to fund their operations should be a first consideration in business. This is a known fact, even to a layman. As at the last count, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) manages over 23 airports across the country, but state governments continue to invest heavily in new airport projects, driven by the desire to connect their cities and towns to the national air link. Despite the fact that many of the airports are not commercially viable, governors continue the rat race as the establishment of an airport is apparently a good way to ‘chop and clean mouth’.
In the last few years, at least 15 states have spent a staggering N301 billion on airports that have failed to meet their yearly passenger traffic projections. Ekiti State Government, under the administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, embarked on the construction of an airport for the state.
The Ekiti State Agro-Allied International Airport was commissioned on October 15, 2022. The airport was inaugurated by Senator Hadi Sirika, the then Minister of Aviation, after the first aircraft landed there. The first aircraft was a Nigerian Air Force ATR 42 plane piloted by Flight Lieutenant E.A. Balogun.
As at the time it was commissioned, the airport was not yet operational because it lacked basic equipment, including navigational aid. Since the first aircraft landed at the airport on the day it was commissioned, no other airline has touched down on the tarmac, while the surroundings now harbour dangerous reptiles and wild animals.
Ekiti State is not alone with such underutilised airports. Several others are scattered across the country that often record no daily flights, and some only receiving occasional chartered flights.
Fifteen airports have been built by state governments since 1999. These include the Asaba Airport; the Muhammadu Buhari Airport in Ebonyi; the Akwa Ibom Airport in Uyo; the Bayelsa International Airport: the Ogun Cargo Airport; the MKO Abiola International Airport, Osun, which is still uncompleted; the Ekiti Cargo Airport; the Anambra Cargo Airport, Umuleri; the Abia Airport; the Wachakal Airport in Damaturu; the Dutse International Airport; the Lafia Airport, which is still uncompleted; the Kebbi Airport; the Auchi Airport, which is uncompleted in Edo State; the Zamfara Airport; the Nasarawa Airport, and the Gombe Airport.
Despite the fact that many of these states’ airports are not viable, Keyamo launched the Gusau International Airport project in Zamfara state recently. The project, worth N62 billion, aims to boost economic development and create jobs in the North-West region. The airport will feature modern facilities, including a 3.4-kilometer runway, terminal building, control tower, and more. Yet, that is a state with acute poverty index.
Abia State is also planning to build an airport, with officials from the Ministry of Aviation inspecting a proposed site few weeks back. Governor Dr. Alex Otti said that Access Bank is willing to partner on the project, which was also included in the 2024 Federal Appropriation Act.
Additionally, many first-generation airports built by the Federal Government during the military era are struggling to become profitable. These include the Makurdi Airport; the Enugu Airport; the Kano Airport; the Kaduna Airport; the Benin Airport; the Owerri Airport; the Jos Airport; the Sokoto Airport, the Maiduguri Airport; the Yola Airport; the Bauchi Airport; the Akure Airport; the Ibadan Airport; the Ilorin Airport; the Calabar Airport; the Minna Airport, and the Katsina Airport.
Of all the airports in the country, only three are commercially viable and built to international standards. These are the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos, the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja, and the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers state. In spite of this, it is a wonder why state governors continue the rat race of establishing more airports in their backyards.
Back to Governor Mbah of Enugu State who is serious about acquiring four aircrafts for his proposed Enugu Air. Has he considered the number of indigenes of that state that would be able to afford the cost of a flight ticket? This is a state that has serious water shortage, with most residents always in search of potable water to drink, especially during the dry season. Why can’t he prioritize the provision of potable water for residents? In his quest to join the bandwagon of those bent on establishing airlines, has he carried out a detailed visibility study on his proposed airline, whether it would be profitable or not? What is the number of poor and average indigenes of Enugu State who may not have the capacity to purchase an airline ticket that makes him to prioritise the establishment of an airline?
The truth of the matter is that we have many leaders who are simply after their own comfort and are not bothered about the welfare of their people. With a good road network, there is nowhere in the whole of the South-south and South east that cannot be accessed within three hours from the Port-Harcourt International Airport.
There is no economic sense in establishing an airport that no local airline would be willing to ply regularly if it is not profitable to them. Why can’t state governors give priority to education, the health care sector, housing, poverty eradication amongst others for their people? These are people-orientated projects that would have lasting impacts on majority of the people who are already battered by our ailing economy and high cost of living.
In Osun, the N12 billion spent on the Ido-Osun Airport can now be regarded as money down the drain as Adeleke is serious about starting afresh in Ede. How much the new Ede airport would cost the state is yet to be determined but with an airport in Ibadan and another one in Ilorin, the need for an airport in Osun is yet to be seen. Asides that, the politics that has now been introduced into the issue is bound to tear neigbouring communities and brothers apart.
It is quite sad that we have leaders whose reasoning have simply defied logic. With a new airport in Ede, Adeleke, whether in power as Governor, or out of power as a former Governor would be able to land his private jet in Ede, few meters from home. And this is a legacy worth pursuing with state funds? These are the kinds of leaders we get in Africa. Really sad!
See you next week.
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