Pay My Ministry Landing Costs: Umahi Tells Keyamo Over Private Jet Landing On Ogwashi – Uku Concrete Road

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Charles Onyekamuo

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi on Thursday jocularly asked his Ministry of Aviation counterpart, Festus Keyamo,(SAN) to pay his Ministry costs acruing from an unnamed private jet that mistankenly landed on concrete road pavement under construction by the Federal Ministry of Works at Ogwashi Ukwu in Delta State .

Umahi who spoke while leading a team from ECOWAS Bank For Investment and Development on inspection tour of Abakaliki -Afikpo Trans Sahara Highway under construction in Ebonyi called on the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo to pay landing, parking and takeoff costs to the Ministery of Works for the emergency landing on the federal road.

Refering to the incident, Umahi said he could 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 can neither blame them nor the pilot for mistaking our concrete roads for runways but, I want to tell my brother, the Honourbale Minister of Aviation to pay us landing, parking and take-off costs for using our road as runway.

“It’s not our fault neither 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”, he said.

He further commended the pace and quality of work on the dualization of Abakaliki -Afikpo-Ndibe Beach Trans- Sahara Highway, saying that the project remains one of the legacy projects of President Tinubu’s administration to ease transportation and boost 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 economic floodgate for the people of Nigeria and neighbouring communities in Camaroon.

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