Nigeria Air Force has sealed an agreement with the Osun State Government to build Africa’s first and largest Aviation City.
The Aviation City began with the relocation of the Research and Development Centre of the Force from its temporary site in the Northwestern state of Kaduna to the Southwestern State of Osun.
In achieving this, Governor Gboyega Oyetola officially handed over a runway and the airport corridor in Ido-Osun to the Air force.
Speaking at the event, Governor Oyetola said the partnership was part of efforts to rekindle the collective hopes of the citizens and stimulate the State economy.
He further explained that the initiative is a testament to the administration’s efforts to keep the dream of having an airport in Osun alive.
The governor said the handover marked the commencement of the construction phase of the project.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Oladayo Amoo, lauded Oyetola for what he described as a major milestone in the state’s history, describing the partnership as another developmental stride in the State.
He said the relocation of the Research and Development Centre added to the existing Air Force Institute of Safety and a Special Operation Force Group at Ipetu-Ijesha.
Amoo, who was represented by the Principal Director, Air Force Research and Development Centre, Air Vice Marshall M. O. Onilede, said: “The components of the project would include an aircraft manufacturing plant, a maintenance repair organisation and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle production centre, amongst others.
“It would be the first of its kind on the continent.
“The runway is therefore a critical requirement for these facilities. This is why this occasion today is not only a laudable one but a major milestone towards many other achievements”, he said.
Document handover
Governor Oyetola, while handing over the official documents of the runway and airport corridor to the Chief of Air Staff, said his administration has taken the bull by the horn to ensure the State keeps the dream of having an airport in Osun alive.
He stressed that the handover ceremony signalled the beginning of another mutually-beneficial relationship with the Nigerian Air Force to speed up the construction and accelerate the completion of the airport.
“As a government that is desirous of diversifying the State’s economy, we realized early enough that the completion of the Osun airport would aid our economic transformation efforts. We however became helpless when confronted with the humongous amount required to make the dream a reality, especially in the face of competing demands in a depressed economy.”
Oyetola stressed that the commitment of the government to create alternatives and meet societal needs made the state Government visit the Minister of Aviation and later the Chief of Air Staff, all in the quest to develop the airport corridor.
He said efforts through the state Ministry of Works and Transport involved several meetings and inspection visits by officials of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Air force.
“Our visit to the Chief of Air Staff yielded positive results, and since then, the Chief of Air Staff has remained true to the commitment reached, first by relocating the Air force Research and Development Centre, which I am told will carry out research into manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles, rockets and other war items, and later by requesting for 100 hectares of land along the airport corridor in Ido-Osun for the purpose of establishing an Air Force Base.
“However, we could only get 60 hectares along that axis for the Air Force Base in Ido-Osun. When we needed additional land, to accommodate parts of the Air force Base project specifically the barracks, Osun Government approached the Nigerian Army.
“I personally wrote to the Army authority, requesting it to grant us additional 50 hectares of land from the military acquired land along the Osogbo-Kelebe axis of the State for the barracks and the army graciously granted our request. I cannot thank the Chief of Army Staff enough for the gesture.
While announcing that the request of the Air Force for the State Government to cede the Runway and the entire Airport corridor to them has been granted, he said the corridor would be developed for both military and civilian use.
“Let me state, as we are executing the ceremonial handover today, that all the support that will be required for the effective take-off of the Osun airport will be provided by the State. We shall also keep the Nigerian Air force abreast of the issues with the previous technical design of the airport, as pointed out by the Ministry of Aviation. They will guide the Force in the execution of the project”, Oyetola added.
The Commissioner for Works and Transport, Remi Omowaye said the project was critical to the state’s drive to become a viable investment destination.
He lauded Governor Oyetola for giving life to the airport project, for which approval was got in 2007.
Olusola Akintonde
