The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has said the leaking roof in a part of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, was due to ongoing construction works at the airport.
FAAN, in a statement signed by its Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrieta Yakubu in Lagos, Wednesday said, the upgrade was in compliance with the recent Executive Order issued by Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.
Yakubu, who was reacting to a viral video of the incident, denied claims that the facilities at the airport were in a deplorable condition.
“It is regrettable that the story, which was capable of creating fear in the minds of intending passengers, was not based on assessment of the said facility by the reporters.
“This is more so because the reporters could easily have cross-checked their facts with our Corporate Affairs Department, before going public with such a sensitive issue.
“Following this malicious video clip targeted to tarnish the authority’s hard earned reputation, management wishes to put the records straight that the leaking roof was as a result of the on-going works at the MMIA, Lagos.
“This upgrade is coming at the heels of the Executive Order issued recently by the Presidency, aimed at ease of doing business in Nigeria, and the authority is doing everything possible to improve the quality of her services in line with the order.’’
According to her, the management in compliance with government policies has since initiated practical steps to improve on safety and security architecture of the nation’s premier airport and also improve comfort and passengers experience.
Yakubu, noted that consequently, upgrade of facilities was on-going in different areas at the International Terminal building of MMIA, Lagos, with its attendant challenges to FAAN operations.
“Sequel to this on-going works, we recently experienced some leakages from the roof at the “D Wing” of the Terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, owing to a heavy rain accompanied by wind storm.
“This is directly connected to the civil engineering works going on at the roof top at that location, which temporarily interrupted our engineers who are replacing the old roof members with new ones at that instance.
“It was practically impossible to work at that location due to its altitude and slipperiness while the rains lasted, but work immediately resumed after the rain subsided, and the integrity of roof was restored.
“We want to state clearly that this defect did not affect operations in any way or at any time at the terminal,” she said.
Yakubu reassured passengers, airport users and the general public of FAAN’s commitment to a safe, secured and improved, facilities at the nation’s airports.