Nigeria Primed to Be Major Aviation Hub in Africa, Declares Minister, Festus Keyamo

•Says nation equidistance to most countries in the world

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, yesterday in Abuja, stated that Nigeria was equidistance to most countries in the world and as such should be a major hub in Africa.

He stated this in his office when the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria paid him a courtesy call.

Keyamo, said the growing number of Nigerians in Canada was alarming and as such, Nigeria should have a direct route to Canada.

He said most flights to Canada were transit and modalities needed to be put in place to support the population there.

While stating that a lot needed to be put in place in terms of infrastructure development in the Nigerian Aviation sector, Keyamo said Nigeria has a long-standing relationship with Canada and might be looking at areas of cargo development since lots of Nigerian eateries were springing up in Canada.

He noted that a focal person from the ministry would be appointed to firm up arrangement in terms of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Canada and Nigeria as regards direct route, repository, cargo flight and the proposed side meeting in Canada for business investments.

Speaking earlier, the Canadian High Commissioner, H.E Jamie Christoff, said Nigeria had a student population of about 18 thousand in Canada with a growing population in various sectors.

He said  modalities would be put in place to see the possibility of a direct route to Canada.

“Canada has a large aviation sector of about 20 billion Dollars and he is willing to introduce private sector investors to Nigeria,” he stated.