Akwa Ibom State government has become the first state in Nigeria to own a commercial airline following the launch its own airline, Ibom Airline recently.
The Airline was unveiled by Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who commended the Akwa Ibom state government for the “historic event”, describing it as a pride of all sons, daughters and well-wishers of the State.
Saraki said: “Today is to celebrate good leadership, and to say that a good thing can come out of Nigeria. Today, we celebrate the audacity of hope. Today, we celebrate a man, who has a dream for his people and does not stop until that dream is realised.”
The Senate President added that the feat showed that “Governor Emmanuel is always thinking about how to make life better for his people; bringing investment to the state, improve governance and provide leadership. I congratulate you. We are proud of you in Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) family.”
He such achievements is what they had been talking about in the last few weeks of their campaign across the country.
“That is the different, when you have a man that understands what needed to be done; when you have a man from the private sector that understand what it takes to bring in investment.”
Following this development, the state government aims to facilitate thousands of direct and indirect jobs, as well as enhance connectivity in the region.
Presently, two Ibom Air aircraft – CRJ 900 series with registration C-FWNL and C-FWNK – have arrived Uyo, the state capital.
The third aircraft is being expected to arrive from Canada today, Friday February 22. The planes are about six years old.
Governor Emmanuel Udom said the airline was a monumental achievement of his administration, saying the aircraft with a sitting capacity of about 90 persons, constitute the newest and modern fleet of the Canadian airbus.
Udom noted that Akwa Ibom is the only state in the country to run a state-owned airport and an airline, adding that the government is running Ibom Air as a business venture.
The governor explained that the Ibom airline will operate routes that would give preference to Akwa Ibom people, and that the government would soon launch one of the best terminal buildings in this country.
