Jonathan Commissions Remodeled Akanu Ibiam Terminal

The president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan over the weekend performed the foundation laying ceremony of the new International Terminal and commissioning of the re-modeled Terminal of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu with a call on Nigerian youths to maintain peace at all times.

Maintaining that the importance of peace in a country like Nigeria cannot be over-emphasised, president Jonathan explained that government can only employ force to check any form of  restiveness in any part of the country when such people refused to heed the appeal to allow peace to reign.

According to him, government was doing everything within its powers to provide jobs for the unemployed youths in the country, pointing out that no meaningful achievements could be recorded in the absence of peace and tranquility.

President Jonathan, therefore, declared that the concept of the dreaded Boko Haram was not Islam but a pseudo religious conflict with ethnic cleansing in some parts of the North.

His words: “Without peace, the nation cannot get to where we want to reach”, and therefore pleaded with people of the country  to ensure that there was peace, stressing  the need for everybody to live in peace in the over all interest of the nation.

President Jonathan, however, warned that where people still felt that they must continue to cause crisis in any part of the country,  government would enforce law and order

On the new Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Dr. Jonathan explained that the airport would handle about 500,00 passengers annually.

He described Enugu as the gateway to the South East Region, the home of the entrepreneurship in Nigeria, explaining that with the current status of international airport, the millions of enterprising people in the region would no longer travel to Lagos, Port harcourt, Abuja or Kano International airports for their foreign travels.

According to him, the re- modeling project in Enugu was part of the national programme aimed at transforming the country’s aviation sector, reasoning that it was the enterprising nature of the people of South East that justified the upgrading of the Akanu Ibiam airport to international status.

”When constructed, the facility will accelerate the quick processing and evacuation of perishable agricultural products directly from the farm to consumers in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

“The evacuation of perishable agricultural products out of the Africa is $15 business opportunity. Nigeria as a nation has not been able to key in and this is one of the areas the aviation minister has been quite particular how we in this country can also key into that multi-billion business”.

He used the opportunity to announce the Federal Government approval of a free trade zone extending from 9 mile to Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

Speaking on behalf of South East Political Leaders at the Enugu State Governor’s Lodge which was venue of reception ceremony, Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, told President Jonathan that the present state of most federal roads in the zone remained deplorable.

He also disclosed to the president that the South East Zone suffered the most horrific and attending destructive consequences of soil erosion in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Former vice president Alex Ekwueme,  governor of old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, Secretary to the government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, former Senate President, chief  Ken Nnamani, five governors of the South East, among others attended the ceremony.