Akwa Ibom State announces plans by state-owned airline to commence international flights

IbomAir, an airline owned by Akwa Ibom State, is to commence international flights in no distant time, with takeoff plans currently in full swing.

According to the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, such flights will begin before the end of 2020.

“As you can see, the International Terminal Building of our airport is coming up very soon; we are going to have our international terminal ready for international flights before year 2020 runs out,” he said.

Ekuwem made the airline’s plan known while briefing the media at the end of the last State Executive Council Meeting for 2019 in Uyo, the state capital.

Underlining the determination to commence international flights, according to the SSG, is due to increased demand for such operations, especially by neighbours and other African countries.

Cameroonians in particular have for a while been clamouring for such flights in order to minimize the practice of flying to Lome (Togo) before connecting a flight to Abuja or Lagos.

Therefore, the IbomAir will soon begin scheduled flights on the Cameroon-Nigeria route, he said, adding that Cameroon to Uyo, Abuja or Lagos are within the approved routes of Ibom Air, while the airline will include Douala with Abuja, Lagos or Uyo in its flight operations.

In another vein, Dr Ekuwem said the executive council meeting also reviewed the state government’s performance in 2019, and vowed to plug some loopholes, including truancy in the civil service.

He said the State Civil Service is to be fully automated using Information And Communication Technology (ICT) for optimal performance and enhancement of productivity of the workforce.

“There will be an increase in the number of road construction, next year, we will have a smart Akwa Ibom State, an intelligent state and this means computerization and ICT based automation of operations within the state civil service.

“Today, we took a decision that human resources (HR) and asset management, productivity of staff, performance, assessment, recruitment, employment, growth, retirement, pension and gratuity within the state civil service will be one click away. You know what that means, we will save time”, he explained.

The SSG noted that Governor Udom Emmanuel has remained undeterred in the socio-economic development of the state which he said was evident in the massive road infrastructure, inauguration of industries, investment in the power sector which would provide electricity to all by 2021, investment in aviation sector especially, the IbomAir, flag-off of the reconstruction of Ibom Blue Sea Science Park, 21 Storey Intelligent Building, and many other projects.

News agency report