Fourteen years after the unquantified losses suffered by the domestic airlines following the absence of a critical operational component like airfield lighting at the Runway 18-Left of the Murtala Muhammed local airport, a relief is underway as installation of the facility has since commenced.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), through its managing director, Captain RabiuYadudu while making this announcement, said the installation of the Category III airfield lighting system on the Runway 18-Left/36which started on July 8, 2022, will take three months to be completed.
The domestic Runway 18-Left/36 which is used specifically by the local airlines is shorter than the Runway 18-Right being used for international operations.
The presence of the facility becomes critical as it illuminates airport runway at night or in low visibility conditions to aid pilots to identify a runway, takeoff and landing areas and other areas and obstruction on the field.
Prior to 2008, the local airlines through the presence of the facility used to enjoy night operations providing seamless services to air travelers and making additional profit until the then government during the tenure of MrBabatundeOmotoba as aviation minster decided to expand and resurface the runway.
As expected, in a normal clime, the contract which was then awarded to P.W. Nigeria Limited at N3.56 billion would have been ensured by the government officials at the ministry and FAAN to contain all the necessary components like the airfield lighting which formed part of the original facility.
Unfortunately, due to so many reasons ranging from sheer negligence, lack of patriotism and financial recklessness, such a gigantic project awarded at such a huge amount left out a critical area like airfield lighting.
While the hues and cries generated by this unimaginable incompetency on the part of government officials lasted, no one was held accountable for the disaster as the contractor was allowed to continue with the project without the facility.
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Obviously, those who awarded the contract would not have made the expensive mistake they made if it were their personal projects or their areas of interest.
This has gone to further show how those put in public positions have continued to engage in the waste of public funds for different reasons ranging from selfish purposes or financial gains at the expense of the generality of others.
Without doubt and from the obvious fact that the naira has greatly lost its value as witnessed by the high foreign exchange rate and other economic changes that have taken place between now and 2008, the fresh award for the installation of another airfield lighting will likely be in the ratio of billions of naira.
Including the airfield lighting aspect of the runway in the original concept then would definitely have saved the country a reasonable amount that could have been used now to tackle some challenges confronting the sector.
Besides the national loss brought by the official carelessness, who is to compensate the domestic airlines that lost so much while they were now forced to make use of the longer international runway at additional cost through fuel they burnt and passengers’ time wasted while having to remain on board until the aircraft taxied from international to local before they disembarked.
This type of costly mistakes which can only happen in this clime without anybody being made to face the music will definitely attract serious reactions from government of other nations for the sake of saving national funds and discouraging the deliberate wastage of public funds.
At this juncture, the Crucial Moment is commending the present government and the FAAN management for not only revisiting the project but ensuring it is reinstalled for the purpose of making night operations bounce back on the domestic scene.
While those who contributed to making the country forfeit such a huge fortune due to their incompetency have been allowed to escape justice, the government should however, guide against similar mistakes in future as the country particularly the sector needs such funds to address myriad of challenges confronting it.
and then