Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has disputed claims by the Ogun State Government that the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport has been certified fit for commercial operations.
The Truth reports that the State government had stated that the NCAA and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NAMA) approved the facility during an inspection on Tuesday, praising its “world-class” infrastructure.
the Ogun State Government had quoted Ango Mohammed, who represented the Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards at the NCAA, as saying, “There has been significant improvement in the facilities since my last visit. The infrastructure here is on par with any standard airport globally.”
Tayo John, representing the Managing Director of NAMA, was also quoted as saying, “We have inspected the infrastructure, and they comply with the strict standards required for safe and efficient air traffic operations.”
The Senior Project Manager at Craneburg, Nicolas Mfarrej, disclosed that the airport is 98 percent complete, while Oluwole Adeyileka, the governor’s consultant on regulatory matters, said the visit marked the final assessment before the commencement of full commercial operations.
However, the NCAA has clarified that the inspection was not a certification exercise, but rather an evaluation of the airport’s air traffic control (ATC) and aeronautical equipment.
According to NCAA spokesperson Michael Achimugu, the airport is still in the process of obtaining certification and has only completed three out of five required steps.
“The NCAA did not certify Ogun airport. What happened yesterday was not a certification exercise, it was an inspection of the ATC and aeronautical equipment. As per the application, they are still on step three out of five, so how could it have been certified yesterday? This is the position of the NCAA, we didn’t certify Ogun airport, thank you very much,” Achimugu said.
