The Federal Government says it cannot stop the demolition at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos from giving development to the people.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, stated this during a briefing after the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This is as a result of a motion by the Senate directing the government to halt the demolition of offices belonging to agencies involved in aviation activities.
Senator Biodun Olujimi who chairs the senate committee on Aviation had drawn the attention of the upper legislative chamber to the warning strike threatened by the Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, and National Association of Aircrafts Pilots and Engineers.
“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.
