A former Technical Adviser on the Ekiti Cargo Airport project, Air Vice Marshal Adeniyi Ojuawo (retd.), who is also a House of Representatives member-elect, tells ABIODUN NEJO how the project will develop the state, boost economic activities and promote agriculture
The Ekiti Cargo Airport project has been largely criticised. As a technical adviser, what are the set goals of the government with the project?
(Former) governor Kayode Fayemi called me on May 12, 2019, a few days after I retired from service, and asked for a meeting. He spoke on the need to work on the airport but I told him I would prefer an international airport, which would give credence to Ekiti as well as bring more investments to the state. Then he said we should go ahead. That was how I came in as a technical adviser on what we needed to do as we were going on. We were out to have an international airport for passengers and cargo and that is what we have here.
It is believed in some quarters that the airport is unnecessary, a waste of resources and should be ignored by Governor Abiodun Oyebanji. Is it really of importance to Ekiti, considering the other challenges facing the state?
Governor Biodun Oyebanji has not abandoned the airport project. He believes in it. I know that the continuity in government has given us a leeway. The governor has given the marching order that passenger operations should begin in October this year. When you want to start the operation of an airport, you may not start a 24-hour operation. You can operate during the day and in good weather only. We will start that in October.
We built a passenger and cargo airport because we looked at our immediate environment; we are agrarian. When you don’t have value in what you produce on your farm, the income will be small and you have a lot of waste. That is why our young men don’t want to go to the farm anymore. After farming the whole year, what do they make as profit? Who is even buying? The airport will open the state to the international market. If you build roads, roads will only link you from one town to the other, but this international airport can take you directly to America from here (Ekiti).
And from what Governor Oyebanji is planning and what he is doing right now in agriculture, if you have the agricultural zone, the processing zone, what do you do with the produce? You must be able to open up your market, not only internally, but externally. If you look at Nigeria as a whole, in the South-West, we produce a lot of eggs; in the North-East, it is difficult for them to produce enough eggs because of the weather. You cannot use the bad roads to transport eggs from here (South-West) to there (North-East). But if you use air freight, you get it anywhere. Many people do not go by road again; cargo has really resolved the issue. You can order something today from the comfort of your room in America and it will be delivered to you in the next four or five days.
Is the state structurally ready?
If you look at Ekiti, we are so central when it comes to the South-West and the North-West. We have a lot of linkages of roads. Once the airport starts operating here and people can bring their goods, everybody will come to Ekiti.
Again, Aare Afe Babalola has so much at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, that people don’t know of. He has farms, mangoes, timbers and the rest that are taken from Ekiti to Lagos to ship out. Look at the number of students that come from outside Ekiti. Even the ABUAD Multi-System Hospital can stop a lot of people from travelling outside the country for medical care. The airport, which takes about five to 10 minutes from the hospital, will play vital roles.
As soon as this airport comes on, a lot of Ekiti people will be ready to buy into it. We are talking to some people who are ready to do maintenance, repair and operation. They bring their aircraft here instead of taking them to Europe. If you fly your aircraft here, we do the maintenance. When this airport starts to operate, the minimum number of Ekiti people that will be employed here will be 2,000. For me, the airport is good foresight from Fayemi. Although he might not have been able to do everything, with the level he has taken it to, nobody can abandon it. We are lucky also that Governor Oyebanji is a disciple of Fayemi and they are working together. As we speak, Fayemi has not left the airport; he is still speaking with the Chief of Air Staff and so many people on behalf of Ekiti State so that the airport can begin operations.
The airport was inaugurated in October last year by Fayemi but has not been used since then. Why is it taking that long to begin operations?
It was the runway test that we did on October 15, 2022, but it was made to be like an inauguration. You can say the runway was inaugurated, but you cannot say the airport has been inaugurated. In every issue, there are political undertones. For me as a professional, we did the runway or flight test on October 15; the runway was completed, the apron was completed, and all the other things, even the terminal building, were ongoing then. The tower had not started then, but we could use a vehicular (mobile) tower to operate the airfield. We brought in a mobile tower, a firetruck and safety equipment. We talked to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and it was with us to do the test because if we didn’t do that test, there would have been no need for us to proceed. If the runway alignment is not correct, we need to correct it; we need that before we can jump.
There are political undertones to it (the inauguration); you have done so well and you want people to know that you are working, it is understandable. If you were in Fayemi’s shoes, what would you have done? You have put so much into it and you are leaving office. When the then Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, landed at the airport that day, he remarked that he had been flying but had not seen a runway as good as ours. It was the testing and they linked it with inaugurating the runway, but people said we were inaugurating an airport. It is not a deceit as people misconstrued it.
It was alleged that the runway gulped N16bn and that it falls below the standard of the Akure Airport in the neighbouring Ondo State. What is your take on that?
I handled the technical aspect, so I may not be able to speak on the amount spent. But I know that when the state government was given the initial bill for the first phase of the airport, it was N13bn. However, with the procurement team, Fayemi and everybody, the initial contract awarded for the first phase was N11.5bn. In all these, I want a situation where Ekiti people or those who want to know how well this project has gone can pay a visit to the airport so that when they see it, they will appreciate it more than when they don’t see it. For me, we are lucky in Ekiti; we must bear with whoever is trying to push us. If you feel the money spent is not judiciously spent, there are ways of addressing that. But for this airport, there have been commendations.
We cannot compare our runway with that of Akure. Airports are purpose-built. What we built in Ekiti is Category E, 747E runway. That is the highest runway you can have because it can take any type of aircraft. What we have here is 3.2 kilometres and 60 metres wide. The load-carrying capacity or load-bearing capacity of the runway here is over 100, which is the highest. It can take any type of aircraft. This is an international airport, and again, this is a cargo airport. Over and above passengers, it can carry cargo. The runway has been tested and found to meet the parameters expected of it. The one in Akure is 727, it is smaller in width and length. Akure Airport was built for another purpose, it is what we call a regional airport.
But some Ekiti residents believe only military aircraft can land at the Ekiti Airport…
All categories of aircraft can land here (at Ekiti Airport). For the flight test, the airline we contacted to use its ATR 42 plane gave Ekiti a bill of N40m. As of then, there was no way Ekiti could just spend N40m just like that. We realised the Nigeria Air Force would be there because the airport had attracted it. NAF was going to use an aircraft called ATR 42, the type of aircraft we had contacted the airline for. NAF uses the plane for its commercial shuttle. It was built by the same company, and one goes through the same training to become a pilot. So, we spoke to NAF through the Chief of Air Staff about the situation we had at hand. That was how the NAF plane came and did it for us for free. We were able to do the flight test of the runway. All the teams that were supposed to be here were present. The NCAA was on the ground and we knew that we had a runway with perfect alignment. Any other thing we are adding now is to make the runway operational. Even after the event (inauguration), other flights have been recorded. Any aircraft can come here and land now if we approve it, but there are some minor things that we need to cover especially when it comes to the fire test. To do the runway test, we got a fire truck from the NCAA to come here and help us. But after that, we need our firetruck.
If the runway and other equipment you have highlighted are available, what is delaying the commencement of commercial operations?
Even before the runway test on October 15 last year, we had brought an airline here. The airline inspected the runway and fixed April 9, 2023, to start operations. However, other intricacies played out. When you begin a commercial flight, at the initial stage of flying, not everybody in Ekiti will want to start patronising you. Assuming that the aircraft is a 42-seater, you probably may not have more than 10 people who want to fly and the airline may not want to run at a loss. But if a new governor comes in, he wants to know what is happening, the running of the state’s economy, before committing himself to an airline. His priority might be different. So, based on that, things may shift, but the governor has made up his mind that by October, the airport will start working.
In view of the limited revenues accruing to Ekiti, how will the state government fund and maintain the airport?
I may not be able to say this is exactly what the government is doing as far as funding is concerned. But I know there is no way you can get enough funding to do all the facilities that you want to put in place for our people. From my perspective, if I am there, I will source funds from anywhere. Once there are facilities, money will be made available, employment will be generated and when there is employment, people will pay tax and you will be able to pay back. But if you don’t look for funds and leave it the way it is, your people will continue to be at the same level. So, a governor should be bold enough to say I am taking this step to get funding. That fund should be judiciously used for the purpose it is meant for, then your people will benefit from it.
Again, an airport is on the exclusive list of the Federal Government. So, no matter the amount we may have invested there, the Federal Government is going to pay us back. So, it is a plus for us that Fayemi started the airport. Once the Federal Government knows that the airport is operating, it needs to operate here, it must pay us and then we calculate it, plus interest. For me, even if we borrowed money to do it, once the money is judiciously used, we will get it back; we will pay it back and the state will be better for it.
What other equipment does the airport need to be fully operational?
The October date is realistic. When it comes to other equipment, Aare Afe Babalola is trying to come in to help with the instrument landing system and the aerodrome lighting system. Once that is done, 24-hour operations can start. Again, NAF has already established a base in Ekiti, so the airport will be a joint-user airport. We will be using it alongside NAF. Because of that, NAF is giving us very high-frequency omnidirectional range navigational aids, which will enable aircraft to navigate or give aircraft bearing on the runway. We are going to start the day operation in October if the other facilities are not yet in place. An airport is not just something you want to start operating full-fledged in one day because the traffic will not be there like that. You have to build the traffic gradually. As you build the traffic, you will also build the infrastructure. As it is, the infrastructure necessary to make it operational is being completed. These include the terminal building, which is more than 90 per cent completed. The four floors of the control tower have been built, all that is needed is to plaster the walls and fix the glass. The power station is ready. The water pump station is ready. The passenger terminal is ready. The cargo apron is ready. The passenger apron is ready, so we can start passenger operation now. But because the cargo terminal is being awarded by the Federal Government, we cannot start cargo (operation) now until the terminal is completed, but we can start the passenger.
Ekiti is a good place if we come together as a team rather than some people staying on the other side and coming up with allegations. Somebody has started something and is doing well. Let us appreciate him for what he is doing. When we resume at the House of Representatives, I pray they put me in the Aviation Committee Sub-committee, (so) our airport will be a top priority to us.
