Flight with registration number NAF 930 belonging to the Nigerian Air Force has become the first aircraft to land at the newly built Cargo Airport in Ado-Ekiti. The aircraft which landed at 10:20 am was flown by flight lieutenant Balogun, who conveyed the Federal Government delegates. The inaugural landing of the aircraft was witnessed by a jubilant crowd and dignitaries, including outgoing Governor Kayode Fayemi; Aviation Minister, Haidi Sirika; Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; Ekiti Speaker Funminiyi Afuye, his deputy, Hakeem Jamiu and other top government officials.
Gov. Kayode Fayemi was elated at the aircraft landing and construction of the airport in record time and has described the airport as a dream come true for Ekiti people, saying the facility would boost the socio-economic growth and development of the State.
Aviation Minister Sirika also described the Ekiti Airport as “an extremely very important project” which would turn facilitate the import and export of goods and commodities. He recalled that when he was on the site for the groundbreaking in October 2019, there were divergent views as to the viability of the project noting that airports are being used by what he called “one-city nation-states in the world” to drive their economy.
He added: “I use to make an assertion, that a one-mile-long road leads to nowhere but a one-mile runway leads to everywhere. You see, I came here today through the runway of this airport provided by Governor Fayemi. There is a future with this project, market and trade can drive everybody here.
“I was at ABUAD, I saw the university, the farm, the industrial park and the hospital. If there is an airport here, it will connect people to this facility and reduce foreign medical tourism. Airports are by no means the best catalysts for the economic growth of any state or nation.
“35 per cent of global trade by value is moved through airports and $18.6 billion of cargo is moved daily through air transportation. The wealthy among you should take to agriculture for example and begin to produce things that you will export to other parts of the world.
“You can be land-locked but you cannot be sky-locked. We can all see the importance of having a facility like this. Thank you Mr Governor, you have provided this facility for the people of Ekiti State; they should own it, they should own it.”
