The Enugu State Government has denied the news making the rounds that the host community of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, which is undergoing major upgrade, demanded the sum of five hundred million Naira (N500,000,000.00) from the contractors handling the project.

In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Nnanyelugo Chidi Aroh, the state government described the news as “false, malicious and baseless”.

Aroh who stressed the commitment of the Enugu State Government to the timely and successful completion of the upgrade of the airport, stated “categorically that no such situation or incident ever occurred”.

He added that “the state government has not received any complaint from the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) or the contractors handling the all-important project”.

The information commissioner stated that “it is a well-known fact, which indeed has been publicly acknowledged severally by both the Hon. Minister of Aviation and the Management of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) that the Enugu State Government has provided all the required support in respect of the upgrading of the Akunu Ibiam International Aiport, Enugu”.

Aroh disclosed that the state government in furtherance of its commitment to the upgrading and timely re-opening of the Enugu airport, during the first meeting of the State Executive Council (EXCO) in 2020, held on January 8, “approved the request of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) made on its behalf by the Managing Director, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, for the issuance of a composite Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) for the entire land area of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu”.

He, therefore, maintained that “the Enugu State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi will continue to provide every support needed to ensure the quick completion of the upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.”