Chairman of Etinan local government area of Akwa Ibom State, Hon Uko Umoh, has lauded the economic diversification drive of Governor Umo Eno.
Speaking at the weekend against the backdrop of the recent acquisition of two commercial Bombardier CRJ 900 Aircraft to boost the IbomAir fleet, Umoh noted that it was a wise decision to generate revenues from other sources to boost the economy at these trying moments instead of over depending on the statutory allocations from the federation account.
He said: “IbomAir has become the darling of the Nigerian sky and is enjoying wide patronage by Nigerians. With these new additions to the fleet, IbomAir is taking over the entire Nigerian air space.
“It is important to note that while other States are struggling with debts, Akwa Ibom is making investments for the future. Just two days ago, the foundation for the Ibom Towers was laid in Lagos, which is another huge investment in real estate.
“We are greatly inspired by the quality leadership at the state level, and we have no other option than to replicate the same in Etinan during our tenure. We are committed and passionate about driving the investment traffic to Etinan Local Government as we push for a change of narrative.”
While taking delivery of the commercial jets, the Governor had explained that; “the addition of these two CRJ 900 next-generation aircraft is an assurance of our administration’s continuous support for IbomAir and a strict adherence to our ARISE Agenda’s goal of strategic investment in sectors capable of stimulating economic growth and enhancing the status of our State among the assemblage of States in the federation.”
IbomAir’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Mfon Udom, disclosed that “with this addition, IbomAir now operates a total of nine aircraft, including two Airbus A220-300s and seven CRJ 900s.”
“Still, we are not resting because to become a serious scheduled carrier, we need to keep growing our fleet. And so we eagerly await the deliveries of our nine remaining Airbus A220-300s from Airbus in the next three years.
“These two new CRJ 900s were outright purchases financed through a shareholder loan. Their addition will bring more capacity to Ibom Air’s service offerings, facilitating better connectivity and reliability for travellers,” he assured.
