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PH, Abuja, Lagos Airport Worst In 2015
The Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, has been named the worst international airport in the world for the year 2015.
A report published by CNNMoney and released by The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, also listed airports from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, among the worst.
The survey, which had qualifying responses from 26,297 well-travelled respondents, put Cape Town International Airport, South Africa, as the best airport on the continent.
It said Nigerian airport is riddled with unpleasant and unhelpful staff, alleged corruption, a severe lack of seating, broken air-conditioning and the fact that the arrivals hall is located inside a tent.
The website said the good news, however, is that “some areas of the terminal have been recently renovated, meaning you can expect actual walls, floors and windows. Though it is a far cry from reasonable, improvements being made.”
The publication listed the worst airports to include Port Harcourt International Airport (Nigeria), King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Tribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu, Nepal), Tashkent International Airport (Uzbekistan), Simon Bolivar International Airport (Caracas, Venezuela), Toussaint Louverture International Airport (Port au Prince, Haiti), Hamid Karzai International Airport (Kabul, Afghanistan), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), Benazir Bhutto International Airport (Islamabad, Pakistan), and Beauvais-Tille International Airport (Paris).
The best airports are, Changi International Airport (Singapore), Incheon International Airport (Seoul, South Korea), Haneda International Airport (Tokyo, Japan), Taoyuan International Airport (Taipei, Taiwan), Hong Kong International Airport, Munich International Airport (Germany), Helsinki International Airport (Finland), Vancouver International Airport (Canada), Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Malaysia), and Kloten International Airport (Zurich, Switzerland).
It also listed the worst airports in Africa in 2015 to include, Port Harcourt International Airport (Nigeria), Khartoum International Airport (Sudan), Kinshasa N’djili International Airport (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Juba International Airport (South Sudan), Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport (Djibouti), Mombasa Moi International Airport (Kenya), Abuja Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (Nigeria), Luanda Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (Angola), Douala International Airport (Cameroon), Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Nigeria).
However, moved by the plight of air travellers in the state, the Rivers State Government, has begun talks with the Federal Government for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.
The Secretary to the State Government, Chief Kenneth Kobani, told newsmen in Port Harcourt, that the government is concerned over the delay in completion of the renovation works at the airport.
In his words: “Our hands are tied, and it is not true that we are not concerned or that we don’t feel the pain of people using the airport, but the problem is that the airport is not directly under us.”
It would be recalled that the airport was among other airports undergoing renovation and expansion under the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, but was later abandoned in the heat of the political campaigns.
But Kobani promised that the state government would work with the Federal Government to ensure that the airport rehabilitation work is completed as soon as possible, and pleaded with airport users to bear with the government.
He pledged to encourage investors in the state with reasonable tax concessions.
The Secretary to the State Government said the plan is to make the state a tax haven for investors, as he warned local government councils against threatening or impounding properties of companies in the course of their revenue drive.
Kobani said, “We have made it absolutely clear that nobody in any local government should use force or threat, or try to impound properties belonging to companies, they have no authority to do that, they have been warned.”
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.