Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday, inaugurated the first commercial flight of the Gateway International Airport, Ilishan Remo. The aircraft owned by Valuejet, with registration number 5N-BXS and 90 passengers on board, departed the airport at 10:10 AM to Abuja.
Speaking at the airport located along the Iperu-Ilisan road in the Ikenne Local Government Area of the State, the governor said the journey to actualise the airport started in 2021 and was part of the vision to provide a well-modeled transport system for the State.
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He said: “I am glad to be here today to actually witness the inaugural flight of a commercial aircraft taking off from Ogun State; this is not like AI, this is real. Commercial operations are starting from Ogun State in the lifetime of an administration.
“We came here in 2021; some people said it was just a photo op, they said it was just politics, they mocked us, and they said this place is nothing but a dump site. Some even said that we were going to use this place as a cattle ranch.
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“Some others had this airport built on a powerpoint, but again, we are here today, and we have seen what can be achieved when there is vision, when there is collective vision, inclusive vision, inclusive participation, and when there is passion and diligence.
“We began to construct in late 2021; in February 2023, this same Valuejet was the first plane to land on this runway; it was a test flight of our runway. Building an airport is one thing; having an airport become operational is a totally different thing because it is a very highly regulated industry.”
Governor Abiodun emphasised that his administration was determined to have the best-constructed, equipped, and befitting airport for the state, noting that apart from being the industrial capital of the nation, the State is blessed with a population, making it the fastest-growing economy in Nigeria today.
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The administration’s vision, Governor Abiodun maintained, is supported by several business cases, adding that the airport is situated in an Aerotropolis, with many companies springing up, just as the biggest textile plant in the world and the Nigeria Customs Village are sited around the airport.
“It speaks for itself; more people are coming to live, work, and play in Ogun State, so this airport makes sense; it ticks the box of our multimodal transport master plan where we connect roads to rail to air, and soon, we will be connected to the sea,” Mr Abiodun added.
He appreciated regulators in the aviation sector, especially the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Minister of Aviation, Mr Festus Keyamo, for providing quality supervision for the airport.
Speaking in an interview, the Speaker of the State’s House of Assembly, Oludaisi Elemide, noted that the airport is in tandem with the dreams of the State’s founding fathers and would serve as a window to the outside world.
“I give it to the governor. This place was a refuse dump, but now it is the site of a world-class airport. I feel happy; I feel on top of the world. There will be economic gains, and there will be comfort, as it will reduce the hassle of going to Lagos to travel by air,” the Speaker said.
On his part, the member representing Imeko-Afon-Yewa North at the House of Representatives, Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka, expressed delight that the airport has finally come to stay, enjoining industrialists to take advantage and leverage their businesses while soliciting people’s support for the project.
The Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Ona-Najomo, commended the state government for keeping faith with all regulatory dictates of the regulatory agencies, just as he expressed satisfaction with the project.
He expressed his willingness to give further support to the airport where necessary, especially for the takeoff of international flights in the nearest future.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Farouk Umar, and other officials from the aviation sector were at the ceremony.
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