Oyebanji engages Ekiti airport facility manager
Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring that operations at the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport conform to international standards in facilities, safety, and management.
Speaking in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday while receiving top executives of airport facility management firm, AAC Management Limited, Oyebanji said the state had engaged the company to manage the airport’s operations in preparation for scheduled commercial flight services.
The AAC team was led by the Managing Director, Mr. Christophe Penninck.
Governor Oyebanji emphasised that aviation had been deliberately positioned as a key catalyst for economic growth in line with his government’s shared prosperity agenda.
“For us as a government, we are desirous of doing well, we are desirous of attracting investors and tourists to the state. So, creating access through transportation is key. The conception of the airport during the last administration was a deliberate action aimed at making it a game changer to reposition transportation system in the state,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of infrastructure that supports 24-hour operations, the governor added:“We believe that access to Ekiti State is key to our shared prosperity agenda.
We don’t want an airport in name, but one that meets all conditions for 24 hours access and that is why whatever it’s going to cost us, we are going to put an ILS in place because for the airport to be competitive, we must put in place standard facilities that every airline will want to land there.”
Oyebanji expressed confidence in the airport’s potential as a regional hub, especially for religious pilgrimages:“We will build the traffic. We have done our own traffic studies. As of today, we have close to seven higher institutions in the state. We can also have passengers from parts of Kwara, Kogi, Osun, and Ondo states. We are deliberate about our action and we know that very soon the airport will fulfil its potentials.”
The governor noted that the Federal Government had awarded the contract for the road leading to the airport, with construction work expected to begin soon.
He added that the ring road connecting the airport would be completed by June 2025.
On his part, AAC Management Limited’s Managing Director, Mr. Christophe Penninck, described the airport as a strategic infrastructure with high growth potential, especially as the state continues to woo investors and industrialists.
“The airport has the potential for rapid growth as the state is aggressively attracting investors and industrialists who would invariably need the services of the airport,” he said.
Penninck also revealed that the airport was already generating revenue and stressed the need to attract airlines.
“We must motivate interested airlines to the airport,” he said, adding, “I am desirous of ensuring that the airport makes profit for the state as well as develop ability to run itself.”
