Members of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly yesterday urged the presidency to publish reports of previous investigations into air crashes which sent many Nigerians to their early graves before any new probe could attract the confidence of Nigerians.
This came following the setting up of an investigative team to probe the last Saturday’s helicopter crash in Bayelsa State which killed former Kaduna State Governor, Patrick Yakowa and ex National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi.
The Senate while condemning the incessant plane crashes in Nigeria said it had become obvious that the Federal Government was no longer capable of coming up with solutions.
They also promised to carry out what it tagged ‘a holistic probe’ into the remote and immediate causes of last Saturday’s crash involving a military chopper.
This resolution came following a motion moved by Senator Chris Anyanwu, APGA, Imo East for an investigation into the crash of the Naval Augusta 109 Helicopter in Bayelsa State last Saturday.
Anyanwu who is also the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Navy while moving the motion yesterday said:
“Senate notes that in 2007 and 2011, there had been two crashes of similar Augusta helicopters owned by the Navy; and we are worried that the seeming recurrence of air mishaps is not just in civil aviation, but also in the Nigerian Military, despite public outcry; note that we are aware that between March and October 2011, there were three reported cases of air mishaps by the Airforce at different locations in the country, and that the causes of these crashes remain unknown.
“We are also aware that on March 21, 2011, one F7-NI fighter jet, belonging to the Nigerian Airforce that was on a routine training programme, crashed in Kano, killing the flight instructor. The F7 fighter jet, which was reported to have come from Makurdi for two weeks training exercise was delivered to the Airforce by the manufacturers in China only a few days before the incident.
“Recall that on September 17, 2006, in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, an 18-Seater Dornier 228 Airforce transport plane carrying senior army officers and three crew members crashed, leaving only three survivors. The victims were members of a committee set up by the government to reposition the Nigerian Army and were enroute Obudu Cattle Ranch where the officers were to hold the retreat.”
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who presided the section overruled a motion for the three committees to carry out a joint independent investigation on the crash.
Following deliberation on the motion, the Senate resolved as follows: “That the Senate condemns the resurgence of air mishaps in Nigerioa and the seeming inability of government to unravel the causes of the incidents.
“That the Senate do mandate the Committees on Navy, Airforce and Aviation to investigate the frequency of these mishaps with a view to finding a permanent solution.
“That Senate observes a one minute silence in honour of the victims of Saturday’s air crash in Tombi, Bayelsa state.
“The federal Government should publish past reports of investigations into Air mishaps.
Summarising the debate, the deputy president of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided said: “I think we have recorded too many deaths in this country in the last two years, from 2010 when terrorism reared its ugly head in Nigeria. And since then, we have had too many deaths in Nigeria, some arising from terrorism, some arising from kidnapping, some from armed robbery, and some from ritual killings, accidents, road mishaps, air disasters, boat mishaps and all kinds of incidents that have visited us over the years.
“The truth is that people are dying on daily basis in our country, which is very regrettable. I believe within the last one to two years, we have lost over 15,000 people, which is about the population of some countries. Yes, Nigeria is a big country with so much population but this population is depleting by the day by all these incidents, so this calls for all of us and leaders in this country to see what we need to do to halt this trend.
“As we have said here, I think our regulatory agencies need to wake up, to ensure that only airworthy planes take off and land in this country, ensure that the pilots are well trained and where maintenance needs to be done is done. And of course, some of the people have died because of security lapses.
“That is one area that I will emphasise that we should also wake up because the protection of lives and property is the primary purpose of governance. We, as leaders, need to buckle up to ensure that we take care of these problems before we lose our dear population.”
He also confirmed the setting up of two committees, headed by Deputy Senate leader, Abdul Ningi, PDP Bauchi Central, and Minority Whip, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, ACN, Lagos West. Ekweremadu added that selected members are expected to visit the victims’ families.
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