[ 2015-08-10 ]

Nigeria severs ties with Ghana over airspace management
Nigeria has begun the process of severing ties
with Ghana when it comes to the management of its
airspace in the Gulf of Guinea.

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the
Ministry of Aviation to take over from Ghana, the
management of the Nigerian airspace. Ghana has
been managing the Nigerian airspace since 1945.

The president also expressed concern about the
absence of a national carrier and directed the
ministry to look into the possibility of having
one as soon as possible.

He gave the directive at the State House in Abuja
while receiving a briefing from top officials of
the ministry led by Permanent Secretary Hajiya
Binta Bello.

The permanent secretary hinted that Togo and Benin
Republic had also concluded arrangements to take
over their airspaces from Ghana.

“We’ve a directive by the president to start
the process of securing the management of the
Nigerian airspace over the Gulf of Guinea which
Ghana has been maintaining since 1945, and there
is a move on the ground by Togo and Republic of
Benin to take over their own airspace from
Ghana,” Bello told the media after the
briefing.

According to the permanent secretary, the
president is worried that Nigeria does not have a
national air carrier.

She said Buhari was told that domestic airlines
were hugely indebted to regulatory agencies
despite the federal government’s N300 billion
intervention fund designed to boost their
operations.

The permanent secretary expressed hope that the
four state-of-the-art airport terminals being
constructed with Chinese Bank loan would be ready
by first quarter of next year.

Source - Starrfmonline

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