Buhari Under 'Serious Pressure' to Float National Airline.

 By Isiaka Wakili

President Muhammadu Buhari says he is under tremendous pressure from many patriotic Nigerians desirous of establishing a national airline.

The president stated this at the State House in Abuja while receiving the president of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Muyiwa Aliu.

President Buhari said he equally supported a national airline for both patriotic and economic reasons as the country had enough trained citizens including pilots and engineers.

The president, however, emphasised that Nigerians needed to know how the country lost the one it had before, the defunct Nigeria Airways.

President Muhammadu Buhari has emphasized the determination of his administration to speed up the improvement of aviation infrastructure in the country for the benefit of the country's economic development.

Reiterating his commitment to working with regulatory agencies in the aviation sector to make air travel safer in Nigeria, he expressed delight with the high ranking accorded the country in safety and security at the airports.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, informed Buhari that the Nigeria was hosting the meeting of International World Aviation Forum in Abuja starting on Tuesday, the first time such conference will hold anywhere outside Montreal, Canada.

The minister said over 40 aviation ministers and representatives from 70 countries, the World Bank, African Development Bank, manufacturers of planes and aviation equipment would attend the conference with the theme "Financing Development of Aviation Infrastructure."

Earlier, Aliu had commended Buhari for fast-tracking policy initiatives that changed the fortunes of air travel in Nigeria, describing the reconstruction of the runway at the Abuja airport as a rare feat.

Aliu, on behalf of the ICAO, presented a certificate of recognition of the School of Aviation, Zaria as a regional centre of excellence; the certification of both Abuja and Lagos airports which have attained ICAO standards for the first time in history, and another certificate marking the attainment of the International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001, 2015 by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.