Ekiti Airport Ready For World-Class Agro-Cargo Activities, Says Minister

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has expressed confidence that Ekiti State is poised to become a global competitor in agro-cargo activities. This statement was made during a recent inspection of the State Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport in Ado-Ekiti, where the minister praised the quality of work done on the facility, specifically highlighting the world-class standard of the airport’s runway.

Keyamo, who was on a fact-finding mission to assess the airport’s readiness, emphasized that the runway at the Ekiti Agro-Allied Airport can be compared to any of the best runways globally. “Ekiti should actually be the commercial hub of Western Nigeria in terms of agro products,” he stated. “This is really one of the hearts of Western Nigeria, where a lot of agro activities happen, and we have been missing a lot of commercial activities here. But with this facility here, you can be sure that Ekiti is ready to compete with the rest of the world in terms of agro-cargo activities.”

While acknowledging that nearly all the essential facilities required for a standard airport are in place, Keyamo explained that the delay in the commencement of commercial flight operations is a procedural step. He said the first phase of operations would involve non-scheduled flights, which is common practice worldwide as it allows the airport to test the facilities before introducing large-scale passenger flights. “What we have approved for now is for the first six months for us to conduct non-scheduled flights,” Keyamo clarified. “In other words, we will not have big commercial airlines coming in with plenty of passengers now, but it is ready for private jets to come in now to test the facilities here.”

The minister noted that the airport has been on the radar of the Ministry of Aviation for some time, and it was now time to begin operations. “I can see that the aeronautical side is absolutely ready, especially the runway,” he said. “The quality of the runway here can be compared to any runway in the world.”

Highlighting the importance of the facility, Keyamo pointed out that the airport is long overdue given the thriving agribusiness in Ekiti State. He expressed optimism that once fully operational, the Ekiti Agro-Allied Airport would become a key player in global agro-cargo operations, competing favorably with similar facilities worldwide.

Keyamo was received at the airport by several key officials, including the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Oyeniyi Adebayo; the Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Kolawole Ajobiewe; the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Taiwo Olatunbosun; the Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Yinka Oyebode; and the Technical Adviser to the Governor on the Airport Project, AVM Sunday Makinde (rtd).

The visit came just a week after the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) conducted the calibration of landing equipment at the airport, marking another significant step toward its full operational readiness.