Ahead of the first Nigeria International Air Show set for Abuja next week, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, said the event will attract direct foreign investments to the country.
The minister, who stated that when he inspected the venue and preparedness of the event on Friday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), said the target of the airshow was to expose the world to the opportunities in Nigeria and seek for investment from the participants.
He stated that the show will kick off on Tuesday next week and will run through to Thursday with various events lined up every day, including an air display by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on the first day and on the last day.
According to him, “So we are all here to see just how prepared we are to kick off and I can say that we are satisfied that we are within time. We will have a wonderful display in the skies for everybody to see. We decided to do this in order to showcase Nigeria to the world.”
He explained that Airshows around the world are opportunities for host countries to showcase what their aviation ecosystem has to offer the world. “So you know of the very, very popular Farnborough Airshow that holds annually or every two years in the UK. You have the Paris Airshow that has been on for decades and of course you have the Dubai Airshow.”
Keyamo further noted that: “Some people may say, well we are still struggling with some aspects of our aviation ecosystem but then is it the chicken that comes first or the egg that comes first? Do you wait to get to the zenith before you begin to advertise yourself? In fact, this is the right time. There is no better time. At a time when we are at the cusp of development in the aviation sector.”
On what the country will benefit from the exercise, Keyamo hinted: “First of all, this is even the beginning of December. You know? Because people are flowing in. We have a lot of visitors coming in as from Sunday to come and see what we have. A lot of people have heard about Nigeria and the growing sector, the growing in the aviation sector. They want to come and see for themselves. The products we have, the products other people around the world have and are willing to bring into Nigeria. Even our local operators will enjoy a lot of person-to-person diplomatic exchanges and business contacts. Airshows are an opportunity for people to strike deals.
“So leasers are coming, financiers are coming also. There will be a lot of talkshows, a lot of seminars, a lot of discussions going on. It’s not only display, you know, air display. And then, of course, you saw the second marquee that we just inspected. A lot of stalls will be there. People will display their products.
“So Nigeria has a lot to gain. Nigeria is gaining international attention, is gaining, you know, potential foreign investment and attracting a lot of people into Nigeria. So the monetary value has a target being placed on it. Well, luckily enough, the federal government is not spending money on it.”
The minister also noted that for safety reasons, during the hour of display in the air, aircraft will not be allowed to land at the Abuja airport within that moment.
Also, speaking, the lead private partner/organiser, Nigeria International Airshow, Bria O. Williams, said that a lot of the local and international airlines were coming, noting that; “You have OEMs like Textron. You have Leonardo Agosta also coming.”
