Buhari orders quick action on new national carrier

• Orders take over of Nigeria’s airspace from Ghana

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday ordered the Ministry of Aviation to expedite action on the establishment of a new national airline for the country.

The president gave the directive while receiving briefing from officials of the Aviation Ministry, led by the Permanent Secretary, Binta Bello, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Speaking with State House correspondents after the briefing, Bello said the president was worried about Nigeria not having a national air carrier and has given instruction for a new one to be established.

She also said the president was briefed on the challenges domestic airlines were facing in spite of Federal Government’s N300 billion intervention fund towards boosting their operations.

The airlines, she said, were hugely indebted to regulatory agencies under the Aviation Ministry, including other factors that have left some of the airlines still struggling to maintain optimum operational capabilities.

According to her, the four state-of-the-art terminals being constructed with Chinese Bank loan will be ready by the first quarter of next year.

She said the facilities under construction and expansion would be big and modern enough to accommodate large aircraft like the Airbus 380 aeroplanes as obtained in the largest international airports.

“The president has directed the Ministry to look into the possibility of having a national carrier as soon as possible,” she said

According to her, President Buhari has also ordered the take over of the nation’s airspace, over the Gulf of Guinea, from Ghana.

She said: “We have a directive by the president to start the process of securing management of 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 the management of their own airspace from Ghana.”

She reassured Nigerians and the international community that the nation’s airspace is safe and has just recorded a score of over 90 per cent by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).