The Minna Airport in Niger State has been renamed by the Federal Government in honor of President Bola Tinubu, who will inaugurate it on Monday.
The airport was previously named after the late Abubakar Imam by the FG as part of a scheme to name 15 airports in the country after notable Nigerians.
Binta Mamman, the state Commissioner for Information, revealed the new development on Sunday during a media briefing at Government House in Minna, when she outlined plans to host the President, who will open the airport, as well as some mechanised farming implements.
“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.
The commissioner disclosed that the remodelling of the airport was originally an FG project but due to a delay in completion, the state government took over the project after consultation with relevant authorities for speedy completion.
She further stated that the project would serve as an alternative to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport considering the state’s proximity to the nation’s capital.
The state Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Aminu Takuma, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Governance and Reform, Dr. Isah Adamu, while fielding questions from newsmen, explained that the renaming of the Airport was based on the support of the President to the state so far.
He said it was the FG’s prerogative to rename the airport since it was the same that had earlier named it.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Musa Salihu, also revealed that the state-of-the-art- equipment for agricultural mechanisation procured by the state government to support and achieve the food security agenda of both the State and Federal Governments would be inaugurated.
He explained that the equipment such as tractors, power tillers, planters and harvesters were already assembled at the airport for a symbolic demonstration of irrigation farming at the Airport City Free Agro Processing Zone.
Salihu said with all the efforts of the Governor Mohammed Bago-led administration especially on agriculture, the state would be the agricultural hub of Nigeria.