By Halimah Olamide
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo has come under fire after he shared images of his trip to Norway to inspect some communication equipment newly purchased for some airports’ control towers in the country. Keyamo, who is barely one month old as Minister of Aviation said he had gone to the Norway manufacturers of the equipment to test them in company with some officials of the Ministry of Aviation. He had posted on his X handle “Earlier today, in Larvik, near Oslo in Norway, I conducted an inspection visit to the company called Jotron that specialises is design, development and manufacturing of communications and safety equipments for the aviation industry. The purpose of this visit was to personally assess and officially accept the communication equipments purchased by the Federal Government for twelve of our control towers in Nigeria. “These control towers are the ones located in Akure, Benin, Calabar, Enugu, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jos, Kaduna, Minna, Owerri, Sokoto, and Yola. Joining me on this visit were the MD of one of our agencies (NAMA) Engr. T. Odunowo, Engr. Farouk A. Umar, the Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services and other technical experts from NAMA.” In another post, the minister had said that he was made to sit down and test the equipment, showing a video of his session with the technical team of the company. He wrote, “After my inspection of the aviation communications equipments today in Norway, I was made to sit down to test one of the equipments, after which I left the technical crew with whom I travelled behind for further technical testing of the equipments before we accept them for export to Nigeria.” However, responders to the minister’s post have accused him of wasting tax payers money saying his trip to Norway made no meaning. According to the responders, Keyamo possesses no requisite experience for inspection of such highly technical equipment saying it could have been appropriate for the technical team of his ministry to go for the inspection. Others also suggested that having purchased the equipment, of what use was the inspection again. Some other responders also said it makes more economic sense for Keyamo’s ministry to facilitate the coming of such a company to Nigeria to manufacturer the equipment with other African countries as ready markets.
https://twitter.com/fkeyamo/status/1703873095386145098?s=46&t=bC9rXNhOjvr-U1ffFr-F3gSee the comments below: @obadeyemi12 said;
“This is what he has always wanted, to be moving around on tax-payers money, nothing to offer.”
@x6blade tweeted;
“Only in Nigeria. A minister will travel to another country to do Photo ops on “already purchased” items.”
A creative director, Chinedu, @neduu_09 wrote,
“I’m still in awe on how someone with no experience in the aviation industry gets to be a minister of aviation. This is why Nigeria keeps going backwards.”
@skyedron said;
“Call the Chinese people that built the airport to send you all the equipment needed and install them with maintenance contracts signed and done.
“All you are doing now is creating problem.
“Buying equipment from unrelated companies. BIG PROBLEM
“What’s all this trip to Oslo for?”
Economist and Public Interest Advocate, Dr. Fabian Onunaku, quizzed;
“Why not invite them and other companies to come to Nigeria to present their products, instead of traveling there with an entourage and wasting public funds? They want to sell, make them come to you.
@JuniorPatrick_M added;
“You should be planning, developing and setting out the framework for the aviation industry and sector.
“The foundations for business to thrive in that sector. Learn to delegate, this visit was not necessary for you!”
“Have you generated enough money to be buying equipment up and down? The equipment your predecessors bought what have you done with them? Watch and see they will soon come and tell us they bought this piano for 10 billion dollars. Always looking for avenue to spend and chop”, @AderonkeeOkeleye stated.
“Avoid emulating the previous minister who spent over 12 billion Naira on 10 firefighting trucks. While I don’t have any hopes for a change, you have the opportunity to exceed our expectations and prove us wrong.” @jideplayaz said.