Abia airport project: Government, land donors reach truce, to sign MoU

From Okey Sampson, Umuahia

The Abia State government and land donors for the Abia Airport project, Nsulu natives, have reached a truce, culminating in an agreement to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The agreement followed a meeting convened to address concerns arising from the government’s acquisition of land for the airport project.

In a communiqué signed by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Caleb Ajagba, for the government, and Rt. Hon. Uzor Azubuike for the Nsulu Airport landowners, and read by Azubuike, both parties agreed to collaborate on any future concerns that may arise during the project’s execution, including the possibility of further reducing the land size.

Both parties also agreed that an MoU would be drafted to outline the host communities’ benefits from the project upon completion. The government assured landowners of transparency in all dealings and promised full and adequate compensation while involving them in the project’s development process.

The landowners appealed to the Abia State Government to consider further reducing the land size allocated for the airport.

The Nsulu people commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving an airstrip for Abia State and praised Governor Alex Otti for upgrading it to an airport and selecting Nsulu as the site. They pledged their support and cooperation for the project’s realisation.