•Tinubu
The federal government has renamed the Minna Airport in Niger State after President Bola Tinubu.
The state’s Commissioner for Information, Binta Mamman, who disclosed this yesterday during a media briefing at the Government House, Minna, said the airport will be inaugurated today by the president.
The airport had earlier been named after the late Abubakar Imam when 15 airports in the country were named after some prominent personalities in Nigeria.
Mamman said President Tinubu will also commission some mechanised farming implements during his visit to Minna.
“All is set for the Niger State Government to receive President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Minna, the state capital. During the President’s visit, he will commission the remodelled and upgraded terminal at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport,” she said.
Earlier, the state governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, said Niger State is now positioned to play a major role in the North Central aero hub with the completion of the airport.
He spoke when the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), bestowed on him the Grand Patron of the Niger State Council of NUJ.
Bago explained that a special agro-processing zone would have fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits and would be transported anywhere in Nigeria and abroad.
He said no fewer than 500 tractors and 200 power tillers have been procured for use by farmers in the state in line with the federal government’s effort to improve food security.
NUJ President, Chris Isiguzo, while addressing newsmen with Governor Bago, said: “I learned about this airport several years ago, but at some point, I also learned that it had gone down, and coming here today to see the massive transformation that is ongoing in this place speaks volumes about the commitment of the present administration in the state.
“If you go around the airport, you can see that it can compete with any other airport in Africa and that shows that the government has invested so much in this airport which is supposed to be federal. But the state through this hardworking governor has taken it upon itself to embark on this massive work.”
