Posted by By Ndubuisi Francis on
Aviation Minister, Dr. Babalola Borishade, weekend condemned the sharp practices being perpetrated by some immigration officials at Port Harcourt Airport, saying thier conduct has smeared the image of Nigeria in the eyes of foreigners visiting the country.
Aviation Minister, Dr. Babalola Borishade, weekend condemned the sharp practices being perpetrated by some immigration officials at Port Harcourt Airport, saying thier conduct has smeared the image of Nigeria in the eyes of foreigners visiting the country.
The minister, who stated that a deluge of complaints about such negative practices have been brought before President Olusegun Obasanjo, said the President has asked him to check the trend immediately.
Borishade, who after an inspection tour of the airport, said foreigners who arrive the airport were usually subjected to series of extortions during their immigration formalities.
The minister, who said he would hold a meeting with the officials of the Airport Command of Nigerian Immigration Service on how to stamp out the problem, regretted that the situation has worsened such that Port Harcourt-bound passengers now fly into other Nigerian cities, settle their immigration formalities, and thereafter proceed to Port Harcourt.
Borishade urged the perpetrators to turn a new leaf.
Meanwhile, the minister has given a pass mark to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), adding that the agency was on the level of international rating.
The minister who spoke after a post-inspection interactive session with the staff of the Port Harcourt Airport with all the chief executives of the parastatals as well as some directors of his ministry present said NAMA was doing well.
He also rated the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) high but said their problem borderd on accommodation while praising the fire fighting arm of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).