IBADAN AIRPORT LACKS AIRFIELD LIGHTING AND INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM-SAYS MINISTER
05-11-23
By Sadiq Aminu The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo has raised concerns about the absence of airfield lighting and Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in Ibadan.
This is coming on the heels of the revelation at an Aviation Stakeholders Meeting in Lagos by the agencies in charge that, these critical safety facilities, essential for aircraft landings at sunset, were nonexistent at the airport.
This issue came to light following an accident involving a Flint Aero-operated aircraft on Friday, November 3, 2023.
Director of Operations, NAMA, Mr. Mathew Pwajok, explained that Ibadan Airport lacks the necessary landing facilities for sunset landings.
“Ibadan has no Instrument Landing System, ILS”.
Managing Director of NAMA, Mr. Tayib Odunowo, also discussed the agency’s challenges, including capacity limitations and projects that do not contribute to their mission.
“We are cancelling, some will go to court and the Honourable Minister has told me he is ready for this battle”.
The revelation of the absence of landing aids at Ibadan Airport caused an uproar among stakeholders, with Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, spokesman for Airline Operators of Nigeria, and a stakeholder Miss Sindy Foster expressing their concerns.
“The only thing you hear is that, we have to calibrate and that calibration have been hearing it since I came into the industry.
“We keep going round and round this topic, you know very well that ILS cannot work without runway lights”.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Mr Festus Keyamo noted that NAMA had been purchasing obsolete equipment for air navigation.
He said, this was discovered during his contract review of the agency.
“And going to cancel most of the contracts and count our losses. We paid 5-10% let the money go, we cannot go further to start paying the remaining 90% of that dollars on that contract for an equipment coming in that is obsolete”.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Buhari Abdulfatai, pledged the National Assembly’s support
in whatever decision taken for industry repositioning.
“Not only on the oversight function or on your budget, don’t get tired, the road is rough, just like the aircraft, it will be bumpy, it will be smooth, the most important thing is to land the aircraft safely”.
The stakeholders meeting aimed to receive stakeholders input also addressed underhanded dealings by government agencies and private firms, prompting the minister to form committees to investigate the situation.