On-the-closure-of-the-osubi-airstrip-the-urgent-need-for-the-delta-state-governments-intervention-to-address-the-situation
September 7, 2020 | News
ON THE CLOSURE OF THE OSUBI AIRSTRIP – THE URGENT NEED FOR THE DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT’S INTERVENTION TO ADDRESS THE SITUATION
With recent reports that airport transport services at the all-important Osubi Airstrip near Warri in Delta State, has been grounded to a halt, as traffic controllers withdrew services over alleged N600 million debt, we consider it necessary to urge the Delta State Government and other relevant Federal Government stakeholders in the aviation sector to promptly take steps to address the situation so as to restore the said airport operations.
According the reports, the action by the said traffic controllers, sequel to the directive of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), followed the facility’s managers’ failure to pay for its services. That means with the air traffic controllers not in the tower, no aircraft could land or takeoff from the Osubi airport. Director of Finance at NAMA, Umoh Aniefiok, confirmed the debt of over N500 million “as at the last count”, adding that the withdrawal of services was the last resort after all other means had been exhausted. It was learnt that the aeronautical services debt had continued to pile up since Shell (SPDC) transferred ownership of the Osubi airport to an indigenous energy and infrastructure company, known as Shoreline Energy Resources, in 2015. According to Aniefiok, the current owners and managers of the facility “simply refused to pay, saying the services are government-owned, forgetting that the cost of training and salary of the controllers are just as much as what is spent on pilots.”
For us, whatever the case may be, the Osubi Airport is a very sensitive and strategically located airport in Delta State, especially for the oil and gas sector operations and other commercial business activities within and outside the State. Therefore, the Government and relevant stakeholders cannot afford or allow the Osubi Airport to remain shutdown for days.
As a result of the above situation, airline operators like Arik Air have announced the diversion of all its flights from Lagos and Abuja arriving into Warri to Benin, following the closure of Osubi Airport Warri by NAMA. According to Arik Air Communication Manager, Mr Adebanji Ola, NAMA in a circular issued on August 29, 2018, said it was withdrawing Air Traffic Services (ATC) from Osubi Airport from 0000 hours on September 3, 2018 until further notice. “In order to minimize the disruption of travel plans of its valued customers, Arik Air said all its flights into Osubi Airport Warri from Lagos and Abuja will be diverted to land at the Benin Airport from Monday, September 3, 2018, until the Warri Airport is reopened”. This is not a good development for the Delta State economy.
Let us reiterate again that the ‘strategic location’ of the Osubi Airstrip, near the oil city of Warri and environs, has made it ‘a favorite’ for Nigerians in Delta State and beyond. Hence, the general increasing desires and demands by us for years now, for the Government to have it developed to a standard Airport to accommodate bigger aircrafts for more patronage. The major work that is required of the Government here is to ‘increase the size of the Osubi Airstrip runway’ so that large aircrafts can land at the Airstrip that will be turned into a standard Airport.
The Government have not responded in this regard to expand the said Osubi Airport runway, and now the said Airport has been shut down. Let the Government and other stakeholders be reminded that there are sensitive oil and gas assets and operations in Warri and environs like the Shell (SPDC) Forcados Terminal, the Warri Refinery and Petro-Chemical, Naval Base, Army Barracks, Air Force Base, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ughelli Pump Station (UPS), Delta Power Station, Ogorode Power Station, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Chevron Escravos Tank Farm and Terminal, all branches of Nigerian Commercial banks in Effurun/Warri, Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), the Utorogu Gas Plant and Utorogu NAG-2 (DomGas Plant) Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), etc, All of these makes the area very ‘active with business, commercial activities’ and movement of people by air. So, we cannot afford to have the Osubi Airport remain shut down for another single day.
We therefore urge that the Government should intervene to address the situation that has led to the said closure of the Osubi Airport, and have it reopened for air transport activities.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
With recent reports that airport transport services at the all-important Osubi Airstrip near Warri in Delta State, has been grounded to a halt, as traffic controllers withdrew services over alleged N600 million debt, we consider it necessary to urge the Delta State Government and other relevant Federal Government stakeholders in the aviation sector to promptly take steps to address the situation so as to restore the said airport operations.
According the reports, the action by the said traffic controllers, sequel to the directive of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), followed the facility’s managers’ failure to pay for its services. That means with the air traffic controllers not in the tower, no aircraft could land or takeoff from the Osubi airport. Director of Finance at NAMA, Umoh Aniefiok, confirmed the debt of over N500 million “as at the last count”, adding that the withdrawal of services was the last resort after all other means had been exhausted. It was learnt that the aeronautical services debt had continued to pile up since Shell (SPDC) transferred ownership of the Osubi airport to an indigenous energy and infrastructure company, known as Shoreline Energy Resources, in 2015. According to Aniefiok, the current owners and managers of the facility “simply refused to pay, saying the services are government-owned, forgetting that the cost of training and salary of the controllers are just as much as what is spent on pilots.”
For us, whatever the case may be, the Osubi Airport is a very sensitive and strategically located airport in Delta State, especially for the oil and gas sector operations and other commercial business activities within and outside the State. Therefore, the Government and relevant stakeholders cannot afford or allow the Osubi Airport to remain shutdown for days.
As a result of the above situation, airline operators like Arik Air have announced the diversion of all its flights from Lagos and Abuja arriving into Warri to Benin, following the closure of Osubi Airport Warri by NAMA. According to Arik Air Communication Manager, Mr Adebanji Ola, NAMA in a circular issued on August 29, 2018, said it was withdrawing Air Traffic Services (ATC) from Osubi Airport from 0000 hours on September 3, 2018 until further notice. “In order to minimize the disruption of travel plans of its valued customers, Arik Air said all its flights into Osubi Airport Warri from Lagos and Abuja will be diverted to land at the Benin Airport from Monday, September 3, 2018, until the Warri Airport is reopened”. This is not a good development for the Delta State economy.
Let us reiterate again that the ‘strategic location’ of the Osubi Airstrip, near the oil city of Warri and environs, has made it ‘a favorite’ for Nigerians in Delta State and beyond. Hence, the general increasing desires and demands by us for years now, for the Government to have it developed to a standard Airport to accommodate bigger aircrafts for more patronage. The major work that is required of the Government here is to ‘increase the size of the Osubi Airstrip runway’ so that large aircrafts can land at the Airstrip that will be turned into a standard Airport.
The Government have not responded in this regard to expand the said Osubi Airport runway, and now the said Airport has been shut down. Let the Government and other stakeholders be reminded that there are sensitive oil and gas assets and operations in Warri and environs like the Shell (SPDC) Forcados Terminal, the Warri Refinery and Petro-Chemical, Naval Base, Army Barracks, Air Force Base, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ughelli Pump Station (UPS), Delta Power Station, Ogorode Power Station, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Chevron Escravos Tank Farm and Terminal, all branches of Nigerian Commercial banks in Effurun/Warri, Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), the Utorogu Gas Plant and Utorogu NAG-2 (DomGas Plant) Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), etc, All of these makes the area very ‘active with business, commercial activities’ and movement of people by air. So, we cannot afford to have the Osubi Airport remain shut down for another single day.
We therefore urge that the Government should intervene to address the situation that has led to the said closure of the Osubi Airport, and have it reopened for air transport activities.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes