Keyamo to reps: Airstrips are controlled by NAMA… all aircraft need approval for facility

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says airstrips are controlled by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

The minister was reacting to a recent resolution of the house of representatives.

The legislators had asked the aviation ministry to stop the issuance of airstrip licences to private individuals and organisations — and to withdraw approvals already granted.

The resolution of the green chamber was sequel to a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Sulaiman Abubakar, a lawmaker representing the Gummi/Bukkuyum federal constituency of Zamfara state.

Early this month, Keyamo reportedly confirmed the approval of an airstrip for Canaanland — where the Living Faith church, also known as Winners Chapel, is located.

Moving the motion, Abubakar said granting airstrips to private individuals and organisations “will aid illegal importation of firearms and hard drugs into the country, thus heightening insurgency, kidnapping, banditry, and other vices that are seriously affecting the socio-economic development of the country”.

Abubakar cited a 2014 report of an aircraft that was arrested in South Africa after taking off from Nigeria.

Two Nigerians and an Israeli were said to have attempted to smuggle $9.3 million into the chartered aircraft for the purchase of weapons.

Reps ask FG to stop approving private airstrips, say ‘religious leader smuggled $9.3m to S’Africa in 2014’ pic.twitter.com/bCDcpF1176

— TheCable (@thecableng) October 31, 2024

‘AIRSTRIPS USE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL’

Keyamo said while Abubakar’s motion may have been driven by patriotism, it was “based on a complete lack of knowledge of the aviation sector”.

“By the time we explain to them how private airstrips work and the processes they undergo by our agencies before the final approval, they will be satisfied,” Keyamo wrote on X.

The minister said the responsibility of the owners of private airstrips is to build the runway and terminal building.

He said after they have built the control tower, “it is completely handed over” to the federal government through NAMA which is in “complete control of the entire airspace in Nigeria”.

“An MOU is usually signed with NAMA in this regard before the airstrip is approved for operations,” he said.

“It is NAMA that provides the Air traffic controllers and engineers in all airports and airstrips in Nigeria. And the private airstrip owners pay the federal government handsomely for these services.

“No object flies into Nigeria without the prior clearance by NAMA and without filing a clear flight plan, eg, where it is taking off from and where it intends to land.

“And I have recently directed that all aircraft coming into the country must first land at our international airports where they would be properly processed and checked before they make their local flights into whatever airport or airstrip they intend to go.

“So, it is completely and totally impossible for any private airstrip owner to just jump on an aircraft and fly in and out of the country through that facility.

“The federal government does not permit that. You will not be cleared for take-off or landing without prior request and authorisation.”

Keyamo added that the lawmaker should have contacted the aviation ministry “before rushing to move such a motion”.