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Campaign mishap: ACN chieftains
escape death
From PAUL ORUDE, Bauchi & UCHE USIM, Lagos
Wednesday,
March 9, 2011
The presidential campaign of the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN)
in Bauchi yesterday almost ended on a tragic note when the jet conveying
top officials of the party, including the vice presidential
candidate, Fola Adeola, nearly crash- landed at the Bauchi airstrip. The
aircraft crashed into some animals on the runway as it landed.
The Jet with registration number SN-BMR which landed at the
Bauchi airstrip at midday was also carrying the deputy national
chairman, Mustapha, Alhaji Yusuf Garba Ali, former chairman of ANPP
among other dignitaries.
According to the Director of Publicity, Nuhu Ribadu Campaign Organization,
Ibrahim Modibbo, the incident happened as they were trying to descend
when they came face to face with two strange animals,
which were crushed to death by the plane as it sped along
the runway.
He said following the incident, the second aircraft which was conveying
the presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu, and former governor of
Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had to hover in the sky for over
40 minutes before they could land.
The incident caused pandemonium even as the teeming supporters of
Ribadu and his entourage who thronged the airport were shocked and
surprised as they witnessed the drama
Modibbo said “We suspected sabotage over the incident because
the authorities allowed stray animals to be on the runways.”
He added that the aircraft was incapacitated by the incident and
called on the Federal Government to urgently institute a high powered
probe into the incident.
He said: “This sabotage is and aimed at trying to eliminate
our presidential candidate. So I think it is a very serious
issue that the Federal Government should look into immediately .
“We are not in any way pointing accusing finger on anybody
but we believe that there must be sabotage somewhere because if
not, there is no where an airport will be allowed to have stray
animals, knowing full that we are having our campaigns here today.
If not for God, we would have lost our lives and this would have
been another story entirely.
“If not for the expertise of the pilot, we would probably
not be saying what we are saying today.
“Is it possible for President Jonathan, who is also the presidential
candidate of the PDP, to be involved in such a situation where the
runway he is to land on will be filled by rams, which could have
been controlled?” Modibbo said.
He added that the Nuhu Ribadu Campaign Organisation was not asking
the PDP government to do it a special favour by guaranteeing safety
and security at the nation’s airports.
“What we are saying is that no life is more important than
the other.”
When contacted the state Operation Manager of National Airspace
Management Agency, Danjuma Zaka said this was not the first time
such ugly incident had happened, saying the problem had been reccurring.
He blamed the government for not taking active action
to solve the problem.
Zaka stated that there was a similar incident when the first lady,
Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, visited Bauchi last two weeks.
According to him, animals and commercial motorcyclists were
being allowed to pass through the airstrip from a village close
to the airport. He said only the government through the Nigeria
Civil Aviation Authority could stop animals and villagers from using
the airstrip as thoroughfare.
Reacting, the special adviser to Governor Isa Yuguda on politics,
Alhaji Abdumumuni Kundak, said the government was not aware of Ribadu’s
visit
Abdulmumuni said: “We only heard from the security operatives
and it is not the responsibility of the state government to take
care of the airport. We want the Federal Government to investigate
and whoever is found wanting should be punished.”
Speaking at the flag off campaign, Ribadu promised positive changes
in Nigeria and Bauchi State if elected in April as president
and assured that ACN would not let Nigeria down.
Reacting to the incident, Ribadu described what happened as an act
of God, saying “I am not ready to blame anybody for the unfortunate
incident but it is not good to allow animals to be passing at the
airport so the government should act fast to make the airport
a conducive one for planes to land.”
The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),
Dr Harold Demuren who confirmed the incident to Daily Sun on phone
said none of the passengers or crew was hurt in the incident.
He, however, revealed that the light jet was damaged as a result
of the collision.
Demuren said the airplane was able to taxi to the apron for all
the occupants to disembark, adding that the perimeter fencing of
Bauchi Airport was ongoing.
, calling for a speedy and thorough job to avoid further runway
incursions.
“The perimeter fencing project there is on. Other airports
without perimeter fences have also been accommodated in this year’s
budget. That is why we must ensure the entire airports are fenced
to avoid things like this. However, no lives or injuries was recorded.
It was just another unfortunate incident”, he stated.
Another airport official who craved anonymity said the runway was
swept few minutes before the airplane descended, wondering where
the goats sprang from.
Recall that a similar incident occurred on July 6, 2005 when an
Air France airplane A330 with 196 passengers ran into a herd of
cows on landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers
State.
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