Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Abia State Government has resolved all the community-related issues on the Abia Airport project located at Nsulu, and commenced work on Friday with the clearing of the access road leading to the runway.
The airport project, which is a joint project between the federal government and Abia State, was initially trailed by controversy over the size of the land the host communities would lose to the project.
But the commencement of work drew a cheering crowd of members of the host communities, signalling that all the knotty issues have been resolved.
The Chief of Staff to the Abia Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, who was at the project site at Umuala Nsulu, Isialangwa North Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, expressed joy and relief that the project has taken off.
He told journalists that the Alex Otti’s government was determined and committed to the implementation of the airport project in collaboration with the federal government.
Ajagba noted that the excitement among the land donors was evidence that the people have accepted to host the airport project, contrary to the falsehood that was earlier dished out suggesting that the people opposed it.
“I was just telling the women of the host communities that I met shortly when I arrived, that this is a very sincere government and everything His Excellency the Governor, Dr Alex Otti has promised, he has always fulfilled,” he said.
“You can see that contrary to the wrong notion, the Nsulu community is receptive to this very important project. You can see for yourselves that that notion(of rejection) is wrong; it’s not correct”.
Ajagba said that the government has already started paying compensation to the land owners, adding that “many host communities have already received their payments and you can see palpable joy, everybody is happy”.
According to him, payment of compensation has been going on smoothly “because transparency is what engineers trust and that’s one thing you can take for granted in the administration of His Excellency (Otti)”.
The governor’s CoS commended  the host communities “for the level of maturity, understanding and commitment that they have shown. It is quite commendable, and we are all proud of Nsulu people”.
Special Assistant to the Governor on Lands and Housing, Pastor Okoro Aji, who is also the Project Coordinator for the Abia Airport Project, stated that the clearing of access to the site marked a milestone in the project.
He said the point from where the runway starts is about 853 metres from the main road, adding that after the access road is cleared, “the necessary soil test and other investigations at the runway” would be carried out.
The leader of the Land Owners Forum for Abia State Airport, Nsulu, and Chairman of the Memorandum of Agreement Committee on the project,  Hon. Uzor Azubuike, commended Governor Otti for heeding their plea by reducing the size of the land acquired for the project from initial 1,800 hectares to 1,000 hectares.
“So, the joy you see here today is the original joy of all the Nsulu people and particularly those who are privileged to be hosting the airport,” he said.

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