AVIATION MINISTER REBUKES FAAN VERY POOR STATE OF UNDERGROUND TUNNEL OF MMIA

Osita Chidoka,Minister of Aviation

The Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka yesterday rebuked the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over the dilapidated state and environmental threat

posed by the abandoned underground facilities at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.
Speaking during the tour of the Lagos Airport facilities, Chidoka remarked that the abandonment of the underground facilities, which formerly used to house the disused Control Center of the Close Circuit Television(CCTV) which used to monitor movements around all sensitive and sterile areas of the airport complex, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and car park for airport users was a disgrace to the nation.
He also lamented the stinking and unkempt nature of the underground facilities and ordered the Authority's management to put facelift to the underground facilities.
The minister further insisted on seeing the car park, which is also underground at the terminal, suspecting that it would be flooded, which the Acting Airport Manager, South West, Engr. Noah Sanya responded in affirmative.
He said, “This thing I am seeing is not good for the image of the country. Look at the facility here, it is flooded. I believe we were not supposed to see this, but we have seen it.”
Besides, Chidoka queried why the arriving passengers at the airport were denied the usage of the arrival drop zone, stressing that the action of the Authority further inconvenient passengers at the airport.
He noted that if departing passengers could be allowed unrestrained access to the terminal’s drop off zone with their vehicles, he wondered why the same gesture could not be extended to the arriving passengers.
However, Sanya tried vigorously to convince the minister that the restriction was as a result of insecurity in the country, maintaining that it was easy for unscrupulous elements to perpetuate dastardly act at the arrival zone.
But, the minister rebuffed him and ordered the management of FAAN to re-open the access for the usage of the travelling public.
He said, “You go and put some old buses at the parking area and tell people to board them to the airside. I want to say it here now that you should remove the barrier here, which disallowed arriving passengers from being picked up by their relatives and allow passengers to have access to this place.
“You can put speed bumps here, which will reduce high speed. I don’t take all you are saying. Please, say something more intelligent to me.”
At the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Service, ARFFS, the minister was informed that FAAN had 90 fire tenders at all the airports, but only 43 of such tenders were functional.
The General Manager, Fire Service, Engr. Peter Onyeri said that while efforts were going on to repair the unserviceable tenders, the agency still needed more of such fire tenders to effectively man the airports.
The minister requested for the monitoring charts of the airport, which was later shown him by Onyeri.