The closure of the Akanu Ibiam International airport located in Enugu is causing huge
losses to the region. Closed six weeks ago on August 24th, its projected reopening for
December 2019 seems a daunting task as the Minister for Aviation, Hadi Sirika has
revealed there are currently no funds to effect the needed repairs in the airport.
Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe believes in order to mitigate this funding
challenge, the Southeast governors should raise the required resources necessary to
ensure the airport is up and running again.
This sentiment is echoed by renowned economist, Dr Uzochukwu Amakom who believes
the southeast loses N10 billion weekly to the closure of the airport. He advises the
southeast governors to fix the airport and task the region’s lawmakers to include it in the
2020 budget.
