Pay landing cost, Umahi tells Keyamo over private jet on concrete road

From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has joked about an incident involving an unnamed private jet that mistakenly landed on a concrete road pavement under construction by the Federal Ministry of Works at Ogwashi-Ukwu in Delta State.

Umahi, while leading a team from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development on an inspection tour of the Abakaliki–Afikpo Trans-Sahara Highway in Ebonyi State, called on the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, to pay landing, parking and take-off costs to the Ministry of Works for the emergency landing on the federal road.

While joking about the incident, Umahi said he did not blame the pilot for mistaking the concrete road for a runway, adding, “I was watching Arise TV this morning, and I saw where they were talking about the plane that landed on the road we are constructing at Ogwashi-Ukwu in Delta State.

“I don’t blame them or the pilot for mistaking our concrete roads for runways, but I want to tell my brother, the Honourable Minister of Aviation, to pay us landing, parking and take-off costs for using our road as a runway.

“It’s not our fault, nor that of President Bola Tinubu, that we are building roads that are far stronger than some runways, but we want to tell them that they should not land on our roads again, because if they land again, they will pay us landing and take-off costs.”

Speaking on the pace and quality of work on the dualisation of the Abakaliki–Afikpo–Ndibe Beach Trans-Sahara Highway, Umahi said the project is one of the legacy projects of President Tinubu’s administration aimed at easing transportation and boosting economic opportunities across the country and beyond its borders.

He said the road, which connects Ebonyi and Cross River states through Ndibe Beach in Afikpo to Benue and Kogi states, will open an economic floodgate for the people of Nigeria and neighbouring communities in Cameroon.

Leader of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development team, Mainouna Sidibe, expressed satisfaction with the level of road development across the country under the Renewed Hope Agenda and promised to support any developmental initiative that would boost economic opportunities for ECOWAS member countries.