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History was made on Saturday when the first aircraft touched down at the newly constructed Ekiti Cargo Airport along Ado-Ijan road, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The inaugural landing of the aircraft was witnessed by a jubilant crowd and other dignitaries, including Governor Kayode Fayemi; Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; Ekiti Speaker Funminiyi Afuye, his deputy, Hakeem Jamiu and other top government officials.
The flight with registration number NAF 930 belonging to the Nigerian Air Force landed the airport around 10:20 am with the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and officials of the ministry on board.
Fayemi was elated at the aircraft landing and construction of the airport in record time.
The outgoing Governor, who described the airport as a dream come true for Ekiti people, said the facility would boost the socio-economic growth and development of the State..
He added that the project, which began in 2019, was geared towards unlocking the vast potentials inherent in Ekiti to attract investors, provide easy transportation of agricultural produces, job opportunities and open Ekiti for rapid development.
Fayemi said that the inauguration of the airport was in fulfillment of his promise to continue to work for the people of the state who elected him to his very last day in office saying the project saw the light of the day despite the very limited resources available to the state.
He noted that his administration defied the challenges of the COVID-19 which adversely affected global, national and state economies to ensure that the dream of the airport became a reality which culminated in the test landing of the first flight on his last day in office.
Going down the memory lane, the Governor recalled that the move to start the project began during his first tenure in 2012 with a Committee on the Viability of the Airport led by legal luminary, Aare Babalola, raised by his then administration noting that the Committee submitted its report in 2012.
According to him, his first administration through the State Executive Council considered and approved the report submitted which was accommodated in the its plan for 2013-2015 Medium Term Sector Strategy but the plan was halted by his exit from office after the 2014 governorship election which placed the project on suspension.
The Governor said his successor in office, Ayo Fayose, embraced the idea to continue with the project but it couldn’t see the light of the day until the tenure ended in 2018.
He said further: “Upon my assumption of office in 2018, I appointed aviation experts and industry related officials to kickstart the implementation of the project. They made several Advocate visits to communities to meet the requirements for the establishment of the airport.(Nation)
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