The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN) has said that Ekiti State is ready to compete with the rest of the world in agro-cargo activities.
Keyamo who stated this in Ado Ekiti, the state capital while inspecting the State Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport commended the quality of work done and described the airport runway as world-class.
The minister who said he was at the airport on a fact-finding mission, posited that the quality of the runway of the facility can compare to any runway in the world.
He said, “Ekiti should actually be the commercial hub of the Western Nigeria in terms of agro products. This is really one of the hearts of the Western Nigeria, where a lot of agro activities happen, and we have been missing a lot of commercial activities here. But with this facility here, you can be sure that Ekiti is ready to compete with the rest of the world in terms of agro-cargo activities”.
Keyamo who noted that virtually all the facilities needed for a standard airport have been provided, however, said that the delay in the commencement of commercial flight operations at the airport is to give room for non-schedule flight which is the standard procedure across the world.
He said the agro allied airport has been on the radar of the Ministry of Aviation for a long time, saying it was high time it commenced operation.
“Well, I am here on a fact finding mission, the Ekiti Agro- Allied Airport has been on our radar for a long time and we felt it was time for us to start operations here.
“What we have approved for now is for the first six months for us to conduct non-scheduled flight. In other words, we will not have big commercial airlines coming in with plenty of passengers now but it is ready for the private jets to come in now to test the facilities here. It’s not because it is not ready, but that is actually the standard procedure all over the world, that you start with non-scheduled flight and test the facilities before bringing a lot of passengers here.
“I can see that the aeronautical side is absolutely ready, the aeronautical where you have runway and am sure you have seen the quality of the runway, this quality of the runway you see here can be compared to any runway in the world”, the Minister proclaimed.
Keyamo, who said the airport is long overdue considering the huge agribusiness going on in Ekiti State, expressed optimism that the airport would compete favourably with similar airports across the world.
The minister was received at the airport by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr Oyeniyi Adebayo; Commissioner for Transport, Mr Kolawole Ajobiewe; Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, Special Adviser, Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode; and Technical Adviser to the Governor on Airport Project, AVM Sunday Makinde (rtd), among others.
The visit came barely one week after the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) embarked on the calibration of landing equipment at the airport.
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