Buhari orders quick action on new national carrier Orders take over of Nigeria’s airspace from Ghana

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday

ordered the Ministry of Aviation to expedite

action on the establishment of a new national

airline for the country.

The president gave the directive while

receiving briefing from officials of the Aviation

Ministry, led by the Permanent Secretary, Binta

Bello, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Speaking with State House correspondents

after the briefing, Bello said the president was

worried about Nigeria not having a national air

carrier and has given instruction for a new one

to be established.

She also said the president was briefed on the

challenges domestic airlines were facing in

spite of Federal Government’s N300 billion

intervention fund towards boosting their

operations.

The airlines, she said, were hugely indebted to

regulatory agencies under the Aviation

Ministry, including other factors that have left

some of the airlines still struggling to maintain

optimum operational capabilities.

According to her, the four state-of-the-art

terminals being constructed with Chinese Bank

loan will be ready by the first quarter of next

year.

She said the facilities under construction and

expansion would be big and modern enough to

accommodate large aircraft like the Airbus 380

aeroplanes as obtained in the largest

international airports.

“The president has directed the Ministry to

look into the possibility of having a national

carrier as soon as possible,” she said

According to her, President Buhari has also

ordered the take over of the nation’s airspace,

over the Gulf of Guinea, from Ghana.

She said: “We have a directive by the

president to start the process of securing

management of Nigerian airspace over the Gulf

of Guinea which Ghana has been maintaining

since 1945 and there is a move on the ground

by Togo and Republic of Benin to take over

the management of their own airspace from

Ghana.”

She reassured Nigerians and the international

community that the nation’s airspace is safe

and has just recorded a score of over 90 per

cent by the International Civil Aviation

Organisation (ICAO).