The governor of Kwara State, Mr AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, has pledged to honour the request by the management of the Ilorin Aviation College to establish the school of engineering to boost its internally generated revenue and also position it to access the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
The governor disclosed this while declaring open a one-week annual training programme for members of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) which started at the college on Monday 27, 2024.
Represented by the commissioner for tertiary education, Dr Mary Arinde, the governor also said the government would continue to support the school within its limited resources as well as allow it to run short courses like cabin crew training to boost it revenue generation.
He also announced that the government had created the enabling environment for the college to collaborate with the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria and the Nigerian Army to train manpower for the aviation sector.
He declared: “Arrangements have been concluded on memorandum of understanding between IAC and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
“The IAC is presently in partnership with the Nigerian Army in the area of training.
“The chief of army staff has sent down 10 army officers to IAC, Ilorin for private pilot license training. I want to assure you all that the College is determined to complete the training within the stipulated period of six months.”
The governor also announced that the army officers’ training “is holding concurrently with the training of about 40 flight dispatchers most of whom are nominees of the various 16 local governments in Kwara State.”
In his remarks, the chairman of LAAC, Mr Idris Suleiman said the aviation industry had continued to thrive despite the numerous challenges.
He noted that the global aviation industry has continuously become more dynamic and demanding in terms of knowledge acquisition and improvements.
He added that the critical place of training in the sector has increased and by implication, created more opportunities for IAC to train more aviation professionals.
Suleiman therefore appealed to the stakeholders and aviation authorities in the country to show more commitment towards to the development of the sector.
