The Ekiti State Agro-Allied Passenger International Airport was inaugurated for public use shortly after the first aircraft landed on Saturday, fulfilling a long-held dream for the people of the Land of Honour.
With the commissioning and landing of the first flight on its soil, Ekiti has joined the elite club of Nigerian states that have a functional airport, which is expected to boost agricultural produce exports, service educational and health institutions, and the state’s abundant tourism potential.
The first aircraft, an ATR 42 Nigeria Air Force plane piloted by Flight Lieutenant E.A. Balogun, landed on the airport’s runway at 10:20 a.m., amidst cheers and excitement from distinguished guests, government officials, and members of the public who had come to witness the historic occasion.
Senator Hadi Sirika, Minister of Aviation, who performed the airport’s inauguration, was among the personalities on board the aircraft that flew from Abuja to make the historic landing on Ekiti soil.
Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the outgoing governor, expressed satisfaction that the project finally saw the light of day ten years after its conception during his first administration in 2012.
“My job is finished, Ekiti Kete,” he declared.
Dr. Fayemi also used the occasion to reassure the people of the state that the state’s dilapidated federal roads would be repaired in order to provide relief to their users and complement the recently inaugurated airport project.
The Governor stated that he, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, and the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, have made strong representations to the Federal Government in order to facilitate urgent intervention on federal roads in the state that are currently in disrepair.
Mr. Zhang Zichen, Chairman of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), which handled the project, explained in his welcome address that the airport is not just a project but “the engine of the state’s economy,” and that it will open up Ekiti to more development and investment to the benefit of the state and business community.
The Federal Government will also locate a cargo facility at the airport, according to Aviation Minister Sirika. He called the Ekiti Airport “an extremely important project” that would help with the import and export of goods and commodities.
“Airports handle 35% of global trade by value, and $18.6 billion in cargo is transported daily.” The wealthy among you should start farming, for example, and start producing goods to export to other parts of the world.
“You can be land-locked but not sky-locked.” We can all see the value of having such a facility. Mr Governor, thank you for providing this facility for the people of Ekiti State; they should own it, they should own it,” he said.
The guests were then taken on a facility tour of the terminal and other airport facilities.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo; the Governor’s wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; the Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi; the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye; Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr. Eniola Ajayi; representatives from Ekiti in Diaspora, traditional.
