The Federal Government says the Federal Ministry of Aviation has been renamed as the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace of Nigeria.

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, made the announcement in Abuja on Wednesday, moments after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sirika explained that the alteration became expedient because it is on the exclusive list.

He maintained that the future of aviation had experienced an advancement such that aviation and aerospace were intertwined and Nigeria had the need to proactively set its policies to align with future occurrence.

The minister linked the development to the establishment of the African Aerospace and Aviation University in Abuja.

The council also approved the concessioning of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano.

Sirika also disclosed that the Abuja airport would be concessioned for 20 years, while that of Kano would be concessioned for 30 years.

In a related development, FEC gave approval for the resumption of on-street parking also known as Park and Pay in the nation’s capital.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who made the announcement, stated that the FCT minister had been seeking an amendment to the laws and consequently had received ratification of the memo in question.

He reminded the public that on-street parking which had commenced in 2012 was discontinued after a court ruling declaring it illegal, but that with the approval, there would be immediate recommencement.

The information minister also disclosed that the Second Niger Bridge was ready for commissioning on May 20, nine days before the official handover.

Earlier, FEC approved $4.7 billion for the development of the Ondo Multi-Purpose Port, Ilaje; Snake Island in Lagos; and Burutu in Delta State.

For his part, the Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, told State House Correspondents that the projects were to be executed through public-private partnership arrangement at no cost to the Federal Government.

He said the Ondo port would cost the private developers the sum of $1.48 billion and would be concessioned for a period of 50 years with the accruals to the concessionaire and the Federal Government expected to be $50 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively. (Channels TV)

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