FG Inaugurates NAIA Perimeter Fencing

As part of the implementation of the safety reform agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the competed perimeter fencing and other projects at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja have been inaugurated.

Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Aviation, Mrs Fidelia Njeze reiterated the federal government’s commitment to completing ongoing rehabilitation projects at airports across the country to give the aviation sector a new lease of life.

According to her, the projects are in Akure, Ibadan, Sokoto, Ilorin, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Enugu, adding that with the completion of the perimeter fencing of the Abuja Airport, Nigeria can now pass the safety audit to be carried out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), this month.

Mrs Njeze stated that before the completion of the perimeter fencing, scores of visiting Heads of State, who flew into Abuja parked their aircraft in either Lagos or neighbouring West African countries because of security reasons.

She said with the airport fence completed, cases of runway and apron incursion would be a thing of the past, because as she put it, safety and security have been upgraded making Nigerian aviation rank among the safest.

The safety rating awarded Nigeria last year by the United States of America Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could now be sustained with the completion of the Abuja airport perimeter fencing identified as one of the key areas which was to be addressed in the past 2006 ICAO audit.

The aviation minister noted that there is no going back on plans by the government to reposition the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, pointing out that there was no better time than now to reposition the airport when passengers and aircraft traffic are on the increase and over-stretching facilities.

She said the airport expansion could not be delayed more than necessary given that the Abuja airport was the second busiest in the country and needs facilities upgrade to accommodate the upsurge in passenger and aircraft traffic.

In his speech, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Dr. Richard Aisuebeogun explained that the completion of the apron expansion would eliminate flooding during the rainy season, pointing out that the completion of the airport perimeter fencing would provide adequate security and safety for the airport operational areas.