Minister vows to resign if Abuja Airport runway work exceeds 6 weeks

Nigeria’s Minister of State, Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika has vowed to quit his position as a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet should the repair work on Abuja Airport runway go beyond six weeks.

He was reacting to stories in some section of the media that repair work on the runway was going to take another 18 weeks.

The minister made the declaration at the Aviation Round Table forum in Lagos, insisting that his reputation and job is at stake having told the President, National Assembly and Nigerians that the repair work will only take six weeks to be completed.

Adding that he is keenly following up on the pace of work at the runway, Sirika said the contractors have been keeping to the schedule and that the quality of work so far accomplished was commendable.

“I am very comfortable that we will be able to meet the targeted six weeks. We have a guarantee that it will be done. I will resign if the closure of the runway goes beyond six weeks. My reputation is at stake,” Sirika said.

He also noted that a lot of studies and consultation were done before Kaduna Airport was chosen as an alternative to Abuja Airport.

The Abuja Airport was shut down on March 8, 2017 and is expected to be re-opened for flight operations on April 19, 2017.

Already, Julius Berger Plc, the contractor handling the project, on Monday disclosed that 40 per cent of the job had been completed. It also promised that the repair works will not exceed the April 19 completion deadline.

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