The minister of aviation and aerospace development on Thursday ordered all issues about the contentious Nigeria Air project and airport concession suspended.
The minister issued the order during a facility tour of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
He also said the issues concerning the two projects would have to be resolved.
“There are issues already on the ground before I came; concession and all of that. For now I have suspended all of that until I brief the president as to what is happening regarding all those noises going on, including the issue of the Nigeria Air. I have given them the directive to suspend everything until I brief Mr President fully. The duty I owe Mr President is honesty; he brought me here and for me to correctly advise him,” he said.
Besides, the minister directed the shutting down of the old terminal at the international wing of the airport and gave international and other airlines operating there to relocate to the new terminal built by China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCCEC).
Although the new facility does not have aviobridges to accommodate wide-body aircraft, the minister said a temporary arrangement would be made to ferry passengers to board.
“I am giving the international and all the other airlines up to October 1 to move from the old terminal to the new terminal. What we are going to do temporarily is that we are going to shut down the old terminal and sort out all the issues regarding its renovation.
“We have 60 points with the new terminal and most of them are not in use. You have those check-in counters are not in use and we are struggling with a terminal that is smelly and leaking and a complete disgrace to Nigeria. That is why I said they should move to the new terminal. I am coming with a private sector mentality.
“For now the temporary arrangement we want to make and for the comfort of Nigerians we have to find a way to use the new terminal built by the Chinese even without the big planes coming in because there are no aviobridges for them to use and the gate bridges for the passengers to pass.
“So like it’s done in many other countries we are going to do emergency procurement to buy the big buses. So we are going to put them in buses and move them to where the big planes stop in an orderly fashion, both the arrival and departure so that Nigerians can have some sort of comfort with this new facility,” he stated.
For the long-term plan, Keyamo said aviobridges would be built to accommodate the bigger aircraft. For the plan to succeed, he said some of the private hangars standing in the way would have to go.
The facilities include Dominion Hangars owned by the general overseer of Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo and EAN Hangars owned by the former director of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren.
“The long term plan is that we are going to find a way to build aviobridges for the big planes coming in and that means that some of those private hangars will have to go for public purpose.
“If we have to do anything for them we will relocate them so that we can have a beautiful and functional gateway to Nigerians. Right now I’m giving them up to the 1st of October to shut down the old terminal so that we can use this new terminal by this arrangement,” he added.
On the disused aircraft littering the airport, the minister gave their owners three months to remove them.
“I have told the managing director of FAAN that all of these aircraft here that are totally unserviceable to remove them. You cannot park them perpetually on the facility of the federal government.
“We want to expand the apron and they will have three months to remove them. All those with unserviceable aircraft, we are giving them three months to take away their aircraft after which we shall be at liberty to do away with them because we want to expand our aprons.
“I have told the managing director of FAAN to get in touch with all of those who have their unserviceable aircraft because it is our facility; they are hampering development,” he stated.
