Reps To Probe Jonathan’s Airport Projects

The House of Representatives has decried the state and
status of the nation’s airports.
The lawmakers regretted that there was little to show for
the huge investment made into the aviation sector by the
Federal Government.

The House consequently directed its Committee on
Aviation to investigate the N400 billion appropriated for the
expansion, modernisation and management of 17
domestic and five international airports by the President
Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The mandate of the committee is to ascertain the factors
responsible for the “damning and embarrassing” status of
Nigerian airports and report back in two weeks.
The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a
motion by Garba Datti  (APC, Kaduna), who noted that with
the whopping sums injected into the aviation sector for the
upgrade of airports, rather than turn out to be symbols of
national pride, they have become objects of condemnation.
He said: “Nigerians should be worried about a recent
report put together by Cable News Network (CNN), World
Airports Survey that rated three of our airports namely; Port
Harcourt, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Murtala Mohammad
International airports among the 10 worst in the world with
Port Harcourt leading the pack.
“I wonder why the Federal Ministry of Aviation, after it
obtained a $1 billion Chinese loan to improve facilities
such as toilet, conveyor belts, avio bridges buses, software
infrastructure and security in general would not live up to it
responsibilities.
“It should also be of concern that in the last five years, the
National Assembly has appropriated over N400 billion for
the expansion, modernisation and management of 17
domestic and five international airports; none of these is
yet to be felt.”
The motion was adopted after it was put to a voice vote by
the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun.