Nigerian lawmakers declare Gombe airport unsafe

Senator Smart Adeyemi’s Committee on Aviation and its House of Representatives counterpart led by Nnorom Nnaji have described Gombe State airport as an eyesore and unfit for aviation business.

Their observations confirmed Governor Muhammad Yahaya’s call on the Federal Government to intervene.

Fielding questions from newsmen on Monday at the airport, Adeyemi said, “The facility does not have the necessary requirements of any standard,” listing water, uninterrupted power supply and other basic amenities.

Consequently, the lawmakers agreed that the Federal Government ought to take over the airport’s management and funding in the interest of the citizenry.

Adeyemi said, “Considering the strategic location of the airport and its condition, we shall impress it on the Federal Government to take over the facility.”

Disclosing that the two committees were in the state to ascertain the state of the airport and make recommendations to the presidency, the senator, who described airport as a socio-economic facility that projects the image of any country, added, “The facilities here are obsolete and nothing to smile over.”

Nnorom added that his committee was approached by Governor Yahaya to visit the airport “for possible assistance, especially the likelihood of the Presidency taking it over.”

He, however, applauded the former governor, Danjuma Goje, now a senator, for his foresight and patriotism in building the airport.

Earlier at the Executive Council chamber, the governor said the state could no longer fund the operations of the airport, citing the state’s position on the federal allocation table as the second to the last.

Taking the committees round the facility, the Deputy Governor, Manasseh Jattau, pleaded with the committees to ensure that the airport was taken over by the Federal Government.

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