The All Progressives Congress (APC) has tagged as an act of sabotage, the blockage of Gombe airport, which prevented the aircraft bearing its officials from landing last week Thursday.
A statement by its spokesperson, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also called the incident a dent on Nigeria’s air safety standards.
APC also criticized the spokesman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Yakubu Dati, who reportedly said the airport was closed for a routine operation to check fire tenders, saying it was either the spokesman did not know what he was saying or he was being economical with the truth.
Reacting, however, FAAN, on Sunday, said it did not deny the chartered plane conveying some officials of APC the landing right.
This came as the organisation launched investigations into unraveling why the pilot of the chartered aircraft did not receive the notice issued to all airmen to stay away from the airport for a specific time on the day in question.
Speaking through Dati, FAAN, while lashing out at those giving the development a political colouration, insisted that the authority would never sacrifice precious human lives and professionalism on the altar of politics.
Dati said Gombe airport, before now, was never a 24-hour airport, a position that had been made known to all airlines and their pilots through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).
According to him, it was within the period that operational activities were not going on at such airports that maintenance and security surveillance operations took place on runways.
“Unfortunately, the fire truck belonging to the Gombe State government used by FAAN to carry out the operations on the day in question broke down on the runway.
“The development was, at once, relayed to the control tower with a specific NOTAM issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to alert airmen of the need to stay away from the airport for the period the truck would have been removed,” he said.
He added that “in the morning of Thursday, January 2, the fire truck used for maintenance and security operation, belonging to the Gombe State government, broke down on the runway.
“While efforts were being made by our engineering staff to remove the truck from the runway, the control tower at the airport was notified of the incident and a new specific NOTAM was issued by NAMA to alert airmen. The fire truck was removed from the runway in less than an hour after its breakdown.
“It is still unclear to us why the pilot of the chartered aircraft did not receive the said NOTAM until he got overhead Gombe airport. This situation is being investigated by relevant authorities in the industry.
“It is, however, unfortunate and sad that a former minister of the country, who was not conversant with the technicalities of the incident, could conclude and cause to be published in the media that the incident was politically motivated.”
But the APC, in its allegation, said, “in view of the seriousness of this unprecedented act, the willful endangering of the lives of those on board the aircraft deliberately prevented from landing and the fact that the action contravenes global aviation standards, we call for a comprehensive investigation of the incident by the National Assembly.”
The party said the investigation was necessary to ensure the country’s airspace did not become another weapon in the hands of a desperate administration.
“After all, the authorities know those who were aboard the plane, as well as their mission in Gombe. We make bold to say that the politicisation of air safety is worse than the alleged training of snipers by the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration,” it said.
APC said if indeed the airport needed to be closed for whatever reason, NOTAM, should have been issued to inform all operators and users of the airport of the situation, adding that the air traffic controllers, aware of the situation, should have then advised the pilot well in advance.
The party sought to find out if and when a NOTAM was issued by the airport and whether or not Kano and Abuja got the notice, adding that if they did, why did they still clear the flight for take-off and en route?
“Definitely, the captain of the airline must have filed a fight plan before take-off and Abuja must have cleared it for take-off. Further investigation will reveal whether the necessary steps were taken by those involved, while appropriate sanctions must be meted out to erring officials, including the glaringly ineffectual and pliant supervising minister,” the party said.
It said those allegedly seeking to turn Nigerian aviation to kangaroo one must be made to know that international aviation bodies were watching the alleged lawlessness some officials were now introducing into the conduct of safety standards.
“Aviation has no room for politics. Even at the height of the Cold War, United States (US) commercial planes were not barred from the airspace of the USSR and vice versa. The flight that was deliberately prevented from landing at the Gombe airport could have come from anywhere, even beyond the country’s borders. It could have been a flight in distress, in which case the sequence of events and their aftermath would have been a tragedy, a man-made tragedy,” APC said.
