The Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has said a report that the Federal Government has declined to give the state a licence to run an international airport is false.
The report said the Federal Government only gave the state the patent to run a domestic airport.
But a statement on Monday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, CC-Don Adinuba, described the story as false and the handwork of detractors.
He said the airport remained an international airport and asked members of the public to disregard the report, describing the purveyors of the “false story” as “a faceless group of hired propaganda guns.”
The statement reads in part, “As the first commercial plane is scheduled to land at Anambra International Cargo/Passenger Airport on April 30, 2021, to test-run the facilities at the airport, a faceless group of hired propaganda guns has crafted and posted on the Internet a so-called report that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Aviation, has refused to give the Anambra State Government a licence to operate an international airport but has rather offered the state a licence to run a domestic airport.
“The scammers attributed the purported decision to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Sirika Hadi, a well-respected captain and administrator.
“The news report is, of course, false, misleading and mischievous. The report fails to state when the Minister announced the alleged decision, how and to whom. In other words, it fails the basic requirements of a news report.
“Yet, we are compelled to refute the substandard report because of the anxiety it has created in millions of Nigerians, particularly Anambra people across the globe who cannot wait to make use of the airport.
“Anambra International Cargo/Passenger Airport remains an international airport. It will be inaugurated at the appropriate time this year. Its facilities are strong and built to global standards. The facilities are big enough to accommodate the biggest aircraft in the world.”
The PUNCH