Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said that the Gateway Agro Cargo Airport in Ilishan Remo will run commercial flights when completed.
This is even as authorities of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have indicated an interest in establishing their operational bases at the airport.
Abiodun disclosed this, at the weekend, during an interactive meeting with leaders of Community Development Councils (CDCs) and Community Development Associations (CDAs) in all the 20 local councils of the state held in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The governor said that some airlines had shown interest in operating commercial flights at the airport to boost the state’s economy.
Abiodun said that his administration’s decision to build the airport was to ensure that the state benefits from being the industrial hub of the country as well as the numerous value chains that come from such a gigantic project.
Besides, he said that the project, when operational, would provide no fewer than 25,000 jobs for the people of the state.
MEANWHILE, Abiodun has charged the Alumni Association of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) to continue to work towards sustaining the institution’s legacy, which has earned it recognition among the comity of polytechnics in Nigeria.
The governor, who stated this during the sixth distinguished alum merit award of the institution in Abeokuta, said that the institution had contributed to the provision of professionals making an impact across the globe, urging them to sustain the prestige.
Abiodun, represented by his Special Adviser on Technical and Vocational Education, Prof. Joseph Odemuyiwa, reiterated that the polytechnic played a critical role in the development of highly skilled and technical personnel, stating that the institution will continue to enjoy the government’s attention.
The governor, who spoke on plans by his administration to further open up the state for more investment and social activities, disclosed that the Ogun light up a project that would ensure constant power in the state would kick-start in the capital city and spread to other parts of the state, while Mowe, Ibafo, and Abeokuta will benefit from the urbanization project.
He told the community leaders that his administration had started implementing the multimodal transportation system with the launch of a pilot bus transit program in Abeokuta, adding that the reconstruction of major federal roads, such as the Ijebu-Ode-Epe, Sagamu-Siun-Abeokuta and Atan-Lusada-Agbara roads, was to ensure that people carry out economic activities without stress.
He assured leaders of the CDCs and CDAs that they would be involved in decision-making, especially on siting and execution of projects in their various communities. He said that the meeting would be held on a regular basis to the interface on issues affecting the well-being of the people.
Responding, Chairman, CDC, Ogun Central, Alhaji Waheed Adekunle, appreciated the governor for convening the meeting after waiting for such an opportunity in the state for more than 10 years.
He, however, called on the governor to look into the poor state of the Social Development Institute in Shasha, Ilisan-Remo, with a view to putting it in proper shape just as empowerment programs should be extended to youths in communities to give them a sense of belonging.
Source: The Guardian
