I had pleaded to complete PH Airport’s local terminal but FG refused—Wike
Rivers State Governor, Barr Nyesom Wike, has revealed that during his first term in office, he had begged the Federal Government to allow his government to intervene in the redevelopment of the Domestic Terminal of the Port Harcourt International Airport, but the Federal Government rejected the plan.
Checks at the terminal showed that more than three years after the denial by the Federal Government, the facility is still hanging in the balance.
The Governor made the disclosure during a courtesy visit by the new General Manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for South-South and South-East, Mr Felix Akinbinu, to the Government House, Port Harcourt.
Addressing the new General manager, Wike promised the readiness of his administration to make critical interventions at the PHIA, Omagwa to improve the international acceptance of the facility.
While expressing delights on the growing use of the airport by the Turkish Airlines, he said his administration will do everything possible to make the Airport a destination of choice in the country.
He said “I will dualise the access road to the airport from the Owerri Road Junction into the airport. I will also reconstruct the road leading to the VIP lounge at the airport.
“The state government will also demolish the existing VIP lounge and construct a befitting lounge. The new lounge will be a storey building. You have made these requests, which I have granted,” he told his guest.
Already, he revealed that there are plans to dualise the access road to the airport with relevant infrastructure including streetlights, service ducks and maintenance structure.
While calling on the Federal Government to complete the construction of the Domestic Terminal of the Airport which it denied the state to do some years ago, Wike recalled that “In the beginning, I pleaded that I be allowed to intervene in the completion of the local terminal of the airport, but they declined because of politics. Why can’t they complete the construction of the local terminal? Is it because it is Rivers State?”
