Nigerians elected a responsive, responsible, capable FG – Lai Mohammed

The timely completion of the Abuja International
Airport runway has confirmed that “ Nigerians
elected a responsive , responsible and capable federal
government ” , under President Muhammadu Buhari .

The minister of Information and Culture , Alhaji Lai
Mohammed said this on Wednesday in Addis Ababa ,
Ethiopia in a statement signed by his Special
Adviser , Mr Segun Adeyemi .

The completion of the reconstruction of the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport , Abuja , runway paved
the way for the re -opening of the airport , after a six -
week closure . And it was done ahead of schedule.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen . Hadi Sirika,
had vowed to resign his appointment as minister in
the event that the deadline for the reconstruction
was not met by the contractors handling the project .

The reopening of the airport for air operations came
a day before the expiration of the official deadline
and the first airline to land at the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport was the Ethiopian Airlines
which relocated to Kaduna Airport after Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport was shut down.

The minister said that the delivery of the project
even before the scheduled date showed government ’ s
ability to live up to its promise and rise up to any
occasion, irrespective of how daunting the challenge
may be .

He described as “ a remarkable achievement” the
ability of the government to complete the
reconstruction of the runway within the stipulated
time , despite doomsday predictions .
“ The clockwork precision with which everything
concerning the closure of the airport and the
temporary relocation to the Kaduna Airport was
handled is the clearest indication yet that Nigeria can
tackle any challenge, ” he said .

He noted that the rehabilitation of the Abuja - Kaduna
road , the provision of effective security along the
highway showed that
Nigerians have what it takes to make the country a
proud member of the comity of nations.
Mohammed also hailed the perfect handling of the
massive logistics involved in ensuring that the
Kaduna Airport was able to handle a large number of
flights .

“ It is to the credit of the security agencies and the
Federal Road Safety Corps that passengers travelling
along the ever -busy Abuja -Kaduna highway were
largely kept safe while the closure of the Abuja
airport lasted .

“ There was no known security scare while accidents
on the road were kept at the barest minimum ,
despite the increased vehicular traffic .
“ Who can forget the timely departure and arrival of
the Abuja -Kaduna train that ferried thousands of
passengers back and forth during the Abuja airport
closure ?
“ Indeed , the closure of the Abuja airport runway and
the logistic nightmare it triggered must rank among
the most intimidating
challenges faced by this Administration , ” he said .

The Minister reminded those who might want to
trivialise the feat by the present government to
realise that what could not be done in the over 30
years the runway was left to deteriorate was
achieved in just six weeks , even under an economic
recession .

He also recalled that the Port Harcourt International
Airport was closed for almost two years by the
Jonathan administration .

Mohammed thanked Nigerians for enduring the
inconveniences that came with the relocation of
Abuja flights to Kaduna.
He also thanked the Ethiopian Airlines that operated
its scheduled Abuja flights to Kaduna and the Julius
Berger construction company that worked day and
night to deliver the project ahead of schedule.

Mohammed said the success recorded in the timely
reconstruction of the runway could only rank next to
the determined effort with which the government
contained the Boko Haram insurgency.
The minister noted that the current administration
under the stewardship of President Muhammadu
Buhari was employing the same uncommon
determination to tackle all the challenges facing the
country .