The Association of Professional Bodies in Nigeria (APBN), Anambra State chapter, has charged the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to brace up and ensure timely completion of the Anambra Cargo Airport at Umuleri, Anambra East local government area.
The group expressed worry over the slow pace of work or near-absence of work on the project after the hope of the citizens of the state was raised by the governor through its flag-off.
Chairman of the body, Dr. Akaolisa Ezeagu, who stated this on Friday in Awka, regretted that the speed at which the project started had dropped significantly, urging the government not to play politics with the project.
He said the body did not believe that the project was used to score political points, in view of its enormous economic significance to the state.
“Yes, infrastructure has severally been used by politicians to bargain for power. But the concept of the international cargo airport and the way the state government went about it, initially indicated professionalism.
“If the state would have the airport, being one of the states with the highest commercial activities, it’s going to boast trade in the state.
“The concept of the project is where aircrafts are going to be refuelled and others which would be the first in the Sub-saharan Africa. There will be enough dividends derivables from the project. So it’s not something government will play politics with at all,” he insisted.
Describing the airport as a key developmental project which would sustain the state’s economy for a long time, the chairman urged the government to see to its actualization before its expiration.
He said, “As professionals, we know the cost implications of the project. It’s a huge capital intensive project which will be impossible for the state to carry out single-handedly.
“That’s why it should review the Public Private Partnership policy, because if it is monolistic PPP policy, the financial capability of the company may be dwindling for that moment. The project need to be segmented with aggregated PPP in order to actualize the dream at record time.”
Commentaires