The establishment of the Muhammadu Buhari (now Chuba Okadigbo) International Airport, located in Onueke in the Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, South-East of Nigeria has remained a subject of discourse among both economic and non-economic experts.

The controversies hinge on the economic viability of the airport; how the N10 billion approved for the project by the then Federal Government under Buhari?s watch was expended by the then David Umahi?s administration; the over-publicised N36 billion spent for the construction of the project and who the contractors were; and the proposed N13 billion expenditure by the current state government under Governor Francis Nwifuru, for runway repairs.

Before the construction of the airport, no fewer than 200 houses were demolished in the area by the then-Umahi-led state government.

The development saw to the displacement of over 800 natives including elderly men/women and nursing mothers. Investigations by South-East PUNCH revealed that most of the owners of the affected houses were never paid compensation. The few that were lucky got paltry sums ranging from N200,000 to N400,000.

Today, amid the suffering and hardship residents of the state contend with, the airport which is supposed to be a revenue-generating enterprise is currently lying economically lifeless and inactive, yet drains the scarce resources of the ?starter? state.

On Thursday, April 26, 2023, the Ebonyi Airport was inaugurated with two inaugural flights (Air Peace Hopper 5N-BXF and 5-BUY) torching down in the airport. It was this very day that Umahi named the airport after former President Muhammadu Buhari. Between April and September 2023 when news made the rounds its runaway was already worn-out, the airport has reportedly never raked in a dime into the coffers of the state government which is in dire need of its monumental development.

Consequently, stakeholders, economic and aviation experts have continued to question the establishment of the project and its benefits to the citizenry. Umahi, had in April announced it cost the state a whopping N36 billion to construct the airport and as if that was not enough, Governor Nwifuru last month disclosed that be spending over N13 billion to rehabilitate the already decrepit runway.

Stakeholders have expressed dismay and reluctance over the project, saying it was anti-people and remained a conduit for economic sabotage.

But defending the approval of N13.7 billion for the rehabilitation of the airport runway, despite being newly inaugurated, Governor Nwifuru, during a media chat as part of activities that marked Nigeria?s 63rd Independence celebration and 27 years of the state?s creation, said the airport should operate optimally considering the huge amount of money spent in constructing it.

He said, ?The question concerning the huge cost of rehabilitating the airport should be asked by every concerned Ebonyi citizen.

?A fellow governor recently asked me the same question and I maintained that the initiators of the airport had germane intentions.

?They, however, didn?t get the runway right as it is not smooth for aircraft to land.?

Noting that the situation has caused problems for several planes and made many to avoid landing at the facility, Nwifuru said, ?We thought the fault was the runway?s expansion joints and decided to close the joints. The problem persisted even when the expansion joints were closed.

?We contacted the Federal Ministry of Aviation which outlined processes for the facility?s rehabilitation.?

Meanwhile, the state government has said the Federal Government was eager to take over the Chuba Okadigbo International Airport, which was commissioned in May 2023.

The Commissioner for Aviation Technology, Dr Ngozi Obichukwu, had a few months ago expressed satisfaction with the level of work at the airport, announcing it would be ready for use before the end of August 2024.

She had said, ?The runway of the Chuba Okadigbo?s Airport is about 90 per cent completed. We have about 500 metres remaining to get it done.

?The expatriate contractors are doing a very good job. Work has been ongoing to ensure that we meet the completion period, which is in May and hopeful, we will commence flight operation by August.

On Tuesday, she equally said the state government had completed the resurfacing of the runway from concrete to asphalt to make it operational and more comfortable for airline operators.

However, a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State, Barr. Silas Onu has described the airport as ill-conceived, saying it was a White Elephant project.

Onu insisted that a right-thinking governor could have opted for massive industrialisation of the state, seeing that agriculture was its main economic base.

He added that the project was a huge waste to the state, which had not added any economic value to its citizens.

Onu, who was the PDP candidate in the February 2024 bye-election for Ebonyi South senatorial district, said, ?As an opening remark, may I indicate that the said airport was built and commissioned as a completed project by the immediate past governor, Engr. David Nweze Umahi. The commissioning was widely broadcast with the landing of one aircraft from Air Peace. I doubt if any other plane landed at the airport after the official commission/opening of that airport. So, I was personally shocked and taken aback when the newly-sworn in Governor Nwifuru began spending billions on the newly, unused airport, for what he termed as ?rehabilitation? or was it ?renovation?? Whichever it was, there was absolutely no need for further needless spending on what has now become a white elephant project.

?The concept of an airport in Abakaliki in itself is ill-conceived as the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu has not been used to its full capacity and can serve Ebonyi State and beyond. What is largely needed in Ebonyi State is massive industrialization as we are a 100 per cent non-oil-based economy. Agriculture is our main economic base and investing in industries that will enhance the value of our products would have been impactful on the lives of our people.

?This airport has only occupied space that would have been used for a better purpose and the billions ploughed into it cannot be said to have been wisely invested ? this is an egoistic project that adds no value whatsoever to the people of Ebonyi State.

?A good question to ask at this juncture is, how well have our economy fared with the EBOTRANS business? Has it elevated the State to a top road transportation service provider in Nigeria? So this will lead us into looking into your next question.?

In a related development, the immediate past Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state and a social media influencer, Comrade Chika Nwoba, has expressed displeasure over the airport project, saying it was a mere conduit for the perpetuation of financial malfeasance.

He alleged that a former governor of the state and current Minister of Works, Engr. Umahi ?packaged? the project as a window dressing to deceive the masses, thus carte away their collective patrimony.

He said, ?Well, I was one of the supporters of the establishment of that airport, bearing in mind that what the governor at that time said it was going to be was actually what it was going to be. Events subsequently began to unfold which portrayed the project as a mere conduit channel through which financial malfeasance could be carried out. I began to lose interest when the governor commissioned it whereas it was still hugely a work in progress.

?He just packaged it for public eulogy. I visited the airport and what I saw was to a large extent a beautiful nonsense. At that point, it was said to have gulped over N40 billion plus. It was at this point that I began to see it as a means of making money for the now-outgone governor and his cronies. I lost interest.

?When the current governor assumed office and immediately allocated what is almost more than what they claimed to have spent on the project, I became more aggravated. I think many also expressed their disenchantment over the issue. People thought everything concerning the airport had been taken care of, reason it was commissioned.?

For the All Progressives Grand Alliance senatorial candidate in the February 2024 re-run for Ebonyi South District, Sir Ifeanyi Eleje, Ebonyi State didn?t need an airport currently, insisting, ?No. I don?t think an airport was a priority need for the state.?

An aviation expert, Anthony Awunor, said the state government should have considered some salient factors before embarking on the airport project, observing that of the 22 airports in the country; only three were operational and functional.

Awunor said, ?From records I have, airport establishment is very capital intensive. Despite this fact, I am aware that most state government still develop voracious desire to set up one.

?Despite their efforts, the airports always turn out to be white elephant projects because they cannot sustain it in the long run. Beyond, setting it up, maintenance has always been another big challenge. To build a 3-kilometre runway is not a joke and again, functional airport needs permanent technical and administrative personnel who must work to sustain the cost of their existence, even if they are not generating money.

?It is on record that only three out of 22 airports under its management are profitable. These three airports also harbour the highest traffic figures. How then is the airport business so attractive to state governments??

Meanwhile, a socio-politico group, the Igbo National Council has threatened to drag the Ebonyi State government to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the airport project.

The group averred that the contract award process, approvals and implementation of the project was allegedly fraught with corruption, calling on the Ebonyi State House of Assembly to review the project immediately.

In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Chilos Godsent, a copy of which was obtained by South-East PUNCH on Monday, the group said, ?Recently, the Ebonyi State government announced that the airport being billed by the state government at Onueke has gulped over N53 billion of Ebonyi State tax payers? money and yet the airport has not started functioning. Also sometime in July 2024, the Ebonyi State government announced that it has concluded plans to purchase four aircraft for commercial purposes to make the airport functional.

?Given the above, the INC, therefore, condemns in strong terms this deliberate and reckless waste of Ebonyi State taxpayers? money on elephant projects. The INC thinks that the ongoing white elephant project called airport is a misplacement of priority and a waste of funds.

?On the foregoing, the INC, therefore, call on the Ebonyi State House of Assembly to immediately set up an independent audit committee with rigid timeframe to carry out a forensic audit on the Ebonyi State airport project at Onueke.

?We wish to state that if the Ebonyi State House of Assembly treats the above request with levity, the INC may have no other option than to commence the mobilisation of concerned Ebonyi State critical stakeholders to initiate a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to commence investigation on the project.?

Efforts to get the state government to give an update on the current state of the airport project in addition to the earlier insights provided by Governor Nwifuru and the Commissioner for Aviation Technology, Dr Obichukwu, failed, on Monday.

Messages sent to the state government?s functionaries, including the Commissioners for Information and Aviation Technology, Engr Jude Okpor and Dr Obichukwu, respectfully, were not responded to, as of the time of filing this report on Monday.

Always, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Nwifuru, Dr Monday Uzor, was yet to respond to inquiries made by our correspondent. (The PUNCH)

Update news