The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, says the liberalisation of Nigeria’s airspace has led to an annual traffic growth of eight per cent. The minister said the goal of the liberalisation was to make Nigeria the hub of West African sub-region.

Sirika said the Federal Government planned to make air travel the preferred mode of transportation in Nigeria.

According to him, this can be achieved, especially with a population of over 180 million and a large land mass.

Nigeria and 27 other countries that make up the African Union have in the last few years signed the single-sky treaty, which requires state parties to liberalise scheduled and non-scheduled intra-Africa air transport services in line with the provisions of the Yamoussoukro Decision.

In a speech presented at the ongoing 40th assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, in Montreal, Canada, the minister said a lot of initiatives had been put in place to support the open skies policy.

Sirika said, “Nigeria has been a great supporter of liberalisation and has continued to champion the liberalisation efforts in Africa through the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Single African Air Transport Market.
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