Manager Explains Closure Of PH Airport’s VIP Lounge

Manager of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa and the South-South/South-East Regional Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Felix Akinbinu, has said that security issue is what has warranted the closure of the newly commissioned VIP/Protocol Lounge built by the Rivers State Government.
Management of the Port Harcourt Airport, he said, is sorting out things to ensure that the VIP lounge is opened for normal business operations.
Akinbinu, who disclosed this in a chat with Aviation correspondents in his office, noted that the delay in the resumption of business operations at the lounge was not deliberate, but just an issue of security.
“What I can tell you about the reason the VIP lounge is still locked is that it’s for security reason. Once we sort it out, normal business operations will resume.
“There is no other reason the lounge is not in operation, except the security matters, and the issue is beyond my power as the Airport Manager. Once it is settled, activities will begin”, he said.
Akinbinu had earlier agreed in an interview with Avation correspondents that the issue of security at the protocol lounge is the responsibility of the airport management, while the maintenance will be the responsibility of the Rivers State Government.
He, however, applauded the efforts of the State Government for rebuilding the VIP lounge, which, he said, has added beauty to the airport environment.
The VIP Protocol lounge was built and commissioned by the Rivers State Government last August, but since then it has not yet started normal business operations.

By: Corlins Walter