Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has expressed optimism that the repair work at the Port Harcourt International Airport will be completed by April.
Speaking to newsmen at the conference centre of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the minister said that the airport�s runway reconstruction will begin this month. According to him, approval from the Federal Executive Council to go ahead with the project was received at the end of last year.
He stated that construction giant, Julius Berger has started moving their equipment to the site to begin work insisting: “I believe the completion period of the project will be latest, April, that�s the target.”
The minister also reiterated his warning to most airlines, especially the British Airways and the Virgin Atlantic to desist from treating Nigerians with utmost disrespect.
He said he was appalled by the shabby treatment handed down to Nigerians and that these kinds of treatments will not be accepted.
“We are saying look, it�s enough and we are appealing to them to be a little more sensitive to our people, the way we respect foreign national that come here and fly our comers.”
Chief Kayode also debunked claims, as earlier reported in the media that he issued a directive that protocol officers should cease from their duties, stressing it was not a question of misrepresentation but a question of fabrication. The directive, he said was for protocol officers, diplomats and anybody else to go through the proper immigration and security process as anybody else.
The minister said that diplomats and expatriate must go through the relevant immigration point due to the same standard as practiced all over the world and that all officers should abide by the law.