KANO: Reopen ‘Aminu Kano’ airport for international flights, Reps tell FG

THE House of Representatives has passed a resolution asking the Federal Government to reopen the international wing of the Mallam Aminu Kano international airport.

The resolution was passed, today, at the plenary session, following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Ado Doguwa, House Majority Leader, and 33 other lawmakers.

The Federal Government had shut the international wing of the airport for almost a year now as parts of measures to contain Covid-19 virus.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has attributed the move to health and security reasons.

But during the plenary, today, the green chamber faulted the closure of the airport  despite its importance to Nigerians, foreigners and the economy, especially as it is “the hub of Muslim pilgrimages in northern Nigeria, alongside serving other exigencies like emergency medical evacuations”.

According to the house of representatives, the continued closure of the airport has jeopardised investments and “brought untold hardship in many dimensions from economic to social loss of revenues generated by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)”.

The motion was put to a voice vote by the deputy speaker, Idris Wase, and was subsequent adopted.The house, therefore, directed its committee on aviation to interface with the Minister of Aviation to agree on a timeline to reopen the international wing of the Kano airport.