From left: Engr Peter Vembe, Member, fAAN Board; Ahmad Suleiman, Member, FAAN Board; Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, MD/CE, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN; Dr Abdulahi Umar Ganduje, Chairman, FAAN Board and Dorothy Duruaku, Member, FAAN Board during the visit of Dr Ganduje and other members of FAAN board to Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1 on Thursday
Abdulahi Ganduje, Chairman, Board of Directors of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has lamented the loss of equipment, especially those of Nigerian Meteorological Agency and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency , saying the fire incident at the Murtala Muhammed International airport was a great concern to the board members when it was first reported on Monday.
He said the cause of the fire could not be ascertained yet as concerned authorities were working to unravel it.
Speaking on Thursday while assessing the level of damage at the old terminal , he said: “There’s no doubt when we heard about the fire outbreak at the International Airport here in Lagos, it was an issue of great concern, especially the board members, we believe the core value of FAAN is safety. And this really affected the safety of the airport, including the safety of the employees, the safety of passengers, the safety of equipment and the safety of many other infrastructural facilities.
” We decided to be here in order to see for ourselves, we have seen the damage that occurred, but at the same time we have to congratulate the MD and her management team, especially the firefighters, over 150 of them who were around until the fire was completely quenched but his is an unfortunate situation. From what we have seen, the firefighters did a lot of work. We have seen that a lot of very sensitive equipment has been destroyed, but no death was recorded anyway. I think the situation is under control now but it’s unfortunate.”, he said.
Ganduje, who also toured the temporary terminal along with members of the board, expressed delight over FAAN’s move to erect a befitting temporary terminal for passengers’ comfort.
” This is a beautiful terminal, the quality here commendable. I thought I was in one of the well-developed foreign international airports, but I am happy to see that I am in Nigeria and in Lagos. The quality of work is beautiful, and all the equipment is being fixed right now, and I think it is going to be a big success coupled with the remodeling work”, he added.
Recall that Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister, Festus Keyamo said on Tuesday that wether equipment belonging to Nimet was destroyed in the fire saying the officers were using some equipment sent to Lagos from other stations.
Also, Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Engr. Umar Ahmed Farouk on Wednesday said the Agency’s Air To Ground communication equipment was completely razed down by the fire that gutted the airport on Monday.
He noted that the situation affected communication but the Agency resorted to using the back up to sustain air traffic services.
