Nigeria Content Online

The House of
Representatives Committee on Aviation has confirmed that the country’s
airspace is under the full surveillance of the Total Radar Coverage of
Nigeria (TRACON).

Describing
reservations and criticisms by some people who faulted the radar
commissioning on the grounds that the system does not operate in some
locations as “political statements”, the committee, on Thursday,
asserted that the multi-billion naira project is functional. “We want
to confirm that the material scope for the project has been completed
and we have the report of ASECNA, the calibrating aviation firm which
carried out the flight check on these equipment and affirmed to its
functionality, especially that of Kano that was tested on October 21,
2010,” said Bethel Amadi, the Chairman of the committee, in a statement
made available to journalists at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Mr Amadi, who was
accompanied by other members of the committee, on a fact-finding
mission to the Kano Radar Site, said that the operation of the newly
commissioned TRACON has confirmed the committee’s position on the floor
of the House as pertaining the completion and operation of the Kano
radar and other eight stations across the country.

Project beyond politics

Two weeks ago,
President Goodluck Jonathan, commissioned the complete and operational
Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria project in Abuja; a development which
is viewed by some as deception on the side of the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency, as they alleged that the system does not fully cover
the country’s entire airspace. The radar enables air traffic
controllers to efficiently and accurately place, manage, control, and
direct aircraft and helicopters in motion within the airspace as well
as those on ground.

The committee chairman advised that the project should not be
politicised, adding that the country’s image should be the first thing
in every right thinking mind. “This project should not be used for
political games,” he said. “Those who are busy spreading this falsehood
should rethink about the implications for our national image and
external investors in the aviation sector of the economy.”

Mr Amadi
also noted that Nigeria had a history of abandoned projects and that
the TRACON could have suffered the same fate, if not for the commitment
by the federal government on safety in the aviation sector, following
the mishap of 2005 and 2006. “The United States Federal Aviation
Authority Category One Status could not have been achieved without the
new surveillance system,” he said.