State govt calls for export boost through upgrade of Jos Airport
By Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo
The Plateau state government has expressed its readiness to exploit the agricultural potentials in the state to revamp agro-product export which has been lying dormant over the years.
This is just as the government called on the federal government through the federal airports authority of Nigeria to upgrade the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft to boost cargo export from the state.
Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs Josephine Piyo who spoke on behalf of the Plateau State Governor, Mr. Caleb Mutfwang during a visit of the Aviacargo Roadmap Committee’s to state on a fact finding mission, said the upgrade of the Jos airport is pivotal to the rebirth of agro-export which the state was previously known for adding that it is prepared to be the hub of export of agricultural produce in the north central.
She said the state government is providing fertilizers and tractors for farmers to boost agricultural product in Plateau, increase the employment of youths, stem youth restiveness and shore-up internally generated revenue.
She stated that: “Like you rightly pointed out that airline operation is the engine of economic activity in any economy, on the Plateau we have all that it takes to build an agro-export economy. We have more than enough to transport outside Nigeria. I want to tell you that all that we produce in Nigeria have always been a waste on the Plateau.
Sometimes you find out that there are fresh beautiful tomatoes and other vegetables but they are thrown away because we don’t have buyers.
“If our airport is upgraded to an international status especially a cargo airport, the economic activities on the Plateau will boom. We are eagerly waiting for this to happen. We assure you that we are going to do the needful to return the state to an agro-export hub in the north central.”
According to her, the government is prepared to work with the federal airports authority of Nigeria and other relevant stakeholders in the agro-product sector to return Plateau to its glory days of agricultural export.
Earlier in his remark, the Managing Director, Federal Airports of Nigeria, FAAN, Kabir Yusuf Mohammed said the purpose of the visit is to seek a workable partnership with the government of Plateau state in order to enhance the capacity of Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos, create sustainable wealth and increase the per capita income of the citizens of the state and also increase its gross domestic product.
The managing director who was represented by the General Manager, Business Development, FAAN, Mr. Hycienth Ngwu, said data by Airport Council International shows that an injection of one percent of a state’s budget into the development of an airport facility will translate to a 2.5 percent increase in the state’s GDP.
He said: “It will be a very good developmental idea for the government of Plateau state to encourage the development of the airport infrastructure of Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos.
“We have a roadmap for this development and the airport manager has told me that the airport and the Plateau State government have developed a workable plan to facilitate the development of infrastructure in the airport with a view to airlifting cargo.
“You are aware that Plateau has the potential of exporting massive agricultural produce and of course agricultural produce are perishable and the easiest way to get them transported across the shores of this country where they will command high revenue in terms of foreign exchange is through air transportation. And that is what the development of airport infrastructure can bring to the table to the state,” he said.
Also speaking, Coordinator of the Aviacargo Roadmap Committee, Mr Ikechi Uko, said part of the teams visit to the state is to find out the reasons for the cessation export of agro-product from the state and to look at ways of mitigation the challenges identified.
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“There was a time when about 25 flights come to Plateau airport every day. Now we are afraid to fly from Jos because there is only one airline flying to Jos. This shows how things have gone bad. This is a state that was known for the biggest agro-export out of this country. And part of what we found out is that exports of goods from the airport are not happening any more. So, in trying to solve the problem of Nigeria, we decided to come to Plateau to find out what went wrong.
“If we do not find out what went wrong that led to the decline of export from the state, we might not be able to solve the problem of a larger nation that wasn’t doing a lot of export.”
