The Federal Government has declared that it cannot be stopped from bringing development to the people in response to a motion by the Senate ordering the government to suspend the demolition of premises belonging to agencies undertaking aviation activities at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
Hadi Sirika, the aviation minister, made this announcement on Wednesday at a press conference held at the State House in Abuja following the Federal Executive Council, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Sirika, who thinks the Senate is just an advisory body that cannot bring up issues with the government, there is a reason why the matter is getting out of hand.
The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, the Union of Air Transport Employees, the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals have all threatened a warning strike, and Senator Biodun Olujimi, the chair of the senate committee on aviation, has just hours ago brought this to the attention of the upper legislative chamber.
“Just the other day, some houses were demolished by the Lagos government in our camp. We have been on that issue for some time, we went up to Supreme Court and won and they had to give way for development. This is in the national interest,” Sirika said.
“There’s no individual that can drag it out with the government. If I want to pull down this hall and build a better one, who is going to stop me as a government?
“So I think it is not an issue, they are just overheating it and you know why. But we have a responsibility and mandate, and we are not shy, we are very bold to do all those things that are good for our people. We are also a very responsive and responsible government, where it will affect the lives of the people, of course, we are going to do it.
“We have been known to do things that better civilization everywhere we go. So, this one also is going to make life very good.”
The Aviation Minister further maintained that those who are contesting the demolition should not deny millions of Nigerians the gratification of witnessing a revolutionized Lagos airport as tenable in other countries.