Aviation Minister Replies Amaechi..We Have Not Abandoned PH Airport

The federal government  Sunday stated that the remodelling work aimed at elevating the Port Harcourt Airport, Rivers State, to international standard was still ongoing.
The Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, Mr. Joe Obi, while clarifying on the comments allegedly made by the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, in a national daily yesterday, that the airport had been abandoned for ulterior motives, said nothing could be further from the truth.

He noted that the attention of the ministry was drawn to comments by Amaechi to the effect that the remodelling of the Port Harcourt International Airport had been “abandoned”, following his rift with President Goodluck Jonathan. 

According to him, the comments of the governor were unfortunate, false and a measure of his well-known political grandstanding.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, we make haste to stress that aviation is a very professionalised industry and we do not in any way indulge in politicking. The ministry will therefore not be dragged into whatever political differences the governor is alleged to have with the presidency,” he said.

He said government was constrained to express disappointment with the comments of the governor, adding that if anything, the current Minister and Ministry of Aviation should be commended by Amaechi for intervening in the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt airport, which had been left to deteriorate over the years.
Obi said: “Anyone who was familiar with the airport in the past two years would readily commend the Ministry for its effort at remodelling the once neglected and derelict airport terminal.”

Work on the Port Harcourt airport, according to him, had not been abandoned as claimed by Amaechi, adding that  work was currently going on according to schedule at the airport and, therefore, had never been delayed, halted or stopped even momentarily at any particular point in time. Anyone in doubt can go to the airport to check this out.

The special adviser stated that the “Port Harcourt International airport is a federal government facility and it will be fool-hardy to even contemplate halting the remodelling works going on there on political grounds. No responsible parent, he added would starve his child because he has a quarrel with a neighbour! That said, it is also important to note that the Port Harcourt airport is one out of the 11 airports we commenced remodelling under the First Phase of the exercise. Not all the 11 have been completed.”

Speaking further, he said: “Airports in the same category with Port Harcourt are the Murtala Mohammed and Margaret Ekpo International Airports Lagos and Calabar respectively, the Owerri, Jos, Kaduna, Ilorin and Yola airports.

“The question to ask is, is Mr. President also having a ‘rift’ with governors in these states that is why the remodelling works are yet to be completed? To illustrate the fact that we do not mix politics with aviation, the remodelling of the Malam Aminu Kano International airport, Kano has been completed and Commissioned in spite of the alleged differences between the Kano state governor and the Aviation Minister.”

He added: “The point to note was that the scope of work and the resources needed to execute the remodelling projects at the different airports are not the same. Ameachi ought to know that simply because several projects were commenced at the same time does not mean they all must be completed at the same time. We are satisfied with the progress of work at the airport.

“It is also untrue that the Ministry has refused to approve the importation of some helicopters by the Rivers state government. Anyone, including state governments and corporate organisations that fulfil all mandatory requirements for importation of aircraft will be given due approvals.”