Uche Usim, Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja and Chinelo Obogo
The Federal Government has pledged to ensure the delivery of a new international airport in Lagos before Easter celebration in 2020.
It also promised to deliver a new airport in Kano in December this year as had earlier been done in Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made the disclosure while while answering questions from reporters at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved counterpart funding for the delivery of the two airports as scheduled.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday sacked the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Muhtar Usman and replaced him with Capt Musa Nuhu.
This was contained in a statement by the Aviation Ministry’s Spokesman, James Odaudu. Reason for Usman’s disengagement was not immediately known as at press time. He was appointed NCAA boss in September 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan for an initial five-year tenure that is renewable.
His successor, Capt. Nuhu, was Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
He is an airline pilot, a safety expert, a quality assurance lead auditor, as well as an artificial intelligence expert.
The new Director-General was also the Chairperson Comprehensive Regional Aviation Safety Plan for Africa and Indian Ocean (AFI Plan) at the ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada and was responsible for safety, air navigation, airports and aviation infrastructure development.
In a related development, President Buhari has also approved the appointment of Engr.Mahmoud Sani Ben-Tukur as Nigeria’s new Permanent Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).