President Muhammadu Buhari has
emphasized the determination of his administration to speed up the improvement
of aviation infrastructure for the benefit of the country’s economic
development.
Speaking while receiving the
President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Muyiwa Aliu,
at the State House, Abuja on Monday, he declared his total support and
commitment to work with regulatory agencies in the aviation sector to make air
travel safer throughout the country.
The President, who received three
awards recently won by Nigeria from ICAO, expressed delight with the high
ranking accorded Nigeria in safety and security at the airports, following
measures put in place to address gaps in airport security.
On the setting up of a national
airline, Buhari said he was under tremendous pressure from many patriotic
Nigerians desirous of establishing one.
“I equally support a national
airline for both patriotic and economic reasons. We have enough trained
citizens including pilots and engineers.
“But Nigerians need to know how
we lost the one we had before,” he said, referring to the defunct Nigeria
Airways.
Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi
Sirika, who led the ICAO delegation, informed the President that the Nigeria
was hosting the meeting of International World Aviation Forum in Abuja starting
on Tuesday, the first time such conference will hold anywhere outside Montreal,
Canada.
He said over 40 aviation
ministers and representatives from 70 countries, the World Bank, African
Development Bank, manufacturers of planes and aviation equipment will attend
this year’s conference focusing on “Financing Development of Aviation Infrastructure.”
President of ICAO, who is a
Nigerian, commended Buhari for fast-tracking policy initiatives that changed
the fortunes of air travel in Nigeria, describing the reconstruction of the
runway at the Abuja airport as a rare feat.
On behalf of the ICAO, Mr Aliu
presented a certificate of recognition of the School of Aviation, Zaria as a
regional center of excellence; the certification of both Abuja and Lagos
airports which have attained ICAO standards for the first time in history, and
another certificate marking the attainment of the International Organization
for Standardization ISO 9001, 2015 by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.
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