THE Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, frowns at the decision of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led PDP government in the state to once again deceive the people with a promise to build a passenger airport at Uzairue in Etsako West Local government area of the state
For Edo people, this is just another of Governor Obaseki’s long list of audio projects strong on paper but non-existent in reality, conceived, designed and perfected to confuse the people.
The other projects on this list are
Gelegele Sea port
Benin Industrial Park
Azura Power plant
Sobe Farms
CBN Anchor Borrowers Scheme
Utesi Industrial Cluster
Truck Transit Park
Inland Container Depot
Edo State Fertilizer Plant and Chemical Company
Edo Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.
Benin Innovation Hub
Trillions of Edo tax payers money have been sunk into these projects by a governor who knew that his plans were not to see them come to reality. It is ironic that though the Edo governorship elections are over, Governor Obaseki is still campaigning. He has forgotten that he is charge and has chosen to waste his alloted time, dilly-dallying and chasing shadows.
While will he embark on an airport construction project that has little or no direct bearing on the lives of Edo people, whereas he did not include it in his audio MEGA ( Make Edo Grounded Again) manifesto? The time for impulsive decisions like the case of this airport is over.
The Governor, was busy like his deputy to take his controversial aviation experts led by a Director in the Aero Contractors, to the site of the airport and chose Mr Jimoh Ejegbai Esq. the chief of staff to his deputy, Mr Philip Shaibu to do the dirty job. The onus was on Ejegbai to explain that the need to promote commercial activities and the presence of agro and natural resources in Edo North Senatorial District informed the establishment of a second airport in the state. He spoke as someone completely ignorant of the state of airports in Nigeria and the world since Covid19.
As it were, the Ministry of Aviation recently announced the proposed concession of four of Nigeria’s major airports: Murtala Muhammad International Airport Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt International Airport, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Benin Airport is not even viable enough to be on this list. This is despite the huge investments in these airports by the Federal government and they have continued to operate at sub-optimal levels, though they have emerged as poster units for gross inefficiency.
The concession plan which could last for 20 to 30 years, extendable on the grounds of good performance, would involve only the non-aeronautical assets of the airports. It is essentially a public-private partnership, with the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) still in control of the aeronautical operations. This is not Governor Obaseki’s plan.
Aviation requires humongous, long-term investment. It is not about planting cassava and harvesting in a matter of months. The investment banker of a Governor appears completely lost on this front. Investors will tell him, that an airport is not a portfolio, the-tree-branch-breaks-the-bird-flies kind of investment.
There are teachers to be employed in Edo schools just as there are schools requiring rehabilitation and renovations. There are roads to be built and erosion control projects requiring serious attention of a determined government. Need we add that the State Civil Service is groaning without adequate and qualified personel.
Governor Obaseki should please wake up from his slumber and face reality. This idea of an airport is misplaced, out of place and pedestrian. There is a lot to do, and the time to start is now.#
Signed
Victor Ofure Osehobo
Assistant State Publicity Secretary
APC, Edo State.