THE APC governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Akan Udofia, has said that he and former Governor Godswill Akpabio are the brains of Ibom Air.
Udofia’s statement came in response to the airline being lauded as an accomplishment of incumbent Governor Udom Emmanuel, to be continued by his projected successor, Peoples Democratic Party’s Umo Eno (PDP).
Nevertheless, in a live interview yesterday on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Udofia downplayed the airline’s economic benefits, arguing that it is not the government’s duty to run airlines.
“They talk about Ibom Air. How many people does Ibom Air employ? How many aircrafts are flying? How many are in the air?” he asked.
Asked to share his view of Ibom Air as an achievement, Udofia said, “It’s marginal. I don’t know what you call ‘achievement’. I’ve been in the aviation industry for at least 13, 14 years.
“Ibom Air was mooted between myself and Godswill Akpabio in 2007. So, when I tell you with all conviction that I’ve been in the industry, I know what I’m talking about.
“Please, go to CAC [Corporate Affairs Commission], you’ll see Ibom Air was incorporated in 2008. Ibom Air is not today. It became operational in his [Udom Emmanuel’s] time.”
According to him, the incorporation of the airline was an investment, supported by the training of about 20 Akwa Ibom indigenes for air traffic control.
“As a minimum, that was the basic investment at the time,” Udofia said.
The APC candidate added that he trained the first female pilot in Akwa Ibom, having owned a jet for 14 years.
“I know what it is to keep those aircraft in the air. Besides refining, the aviation industry is the biggest loss-making industry in the world, and the only way you can break even, those aircraft must be in the air,” he said.
“I want somebody to tell me where they are flying to. I want somebody to show me that they are Air Peace. When we talk about Ibom Air, it’s just a means of transportation. I don’t think it’s a means of any kind of prosperity for anybody.”
But the entrepreneur has no plans to scrap the project. Rather, the government must reduce its operational and financial responsibilities.
“Of course, I’m going to go public-private partnership. The business of government is not to be running an airline. I’m going to focus on millennial goals – Sustainable Development Goals, that’s my responsibility as a government.
I have no business in marginal businesses. I will create an enabling environment for businessmen to come and run Ibom Air. That’s their business, not my business. My business is to grow my people,” he said.
