The Senate has urged the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) to take possession of the abandoned Shell Airstrip at Oloibiri Oil Well, in Bayelsa State, and convert it into a modern Air Force base.
This followed the adoption of a motion on the urgent need for the transformation of the abandoned Shell Airstrip at Oloibiri Oil Well 1, in Ogbia Local Council of Bayelsa State, to an Air Force base.
The Senator representing Bayelsa East, Sunday Agadaga (PDP), who sponsored the motion, said that the Shell Airstrip was constructed in 1958, following the first discovery of crude oil in 1956.
According to him, the airstrip, sitting on over 25 hectares of land, has long been abandoned. Agadaga said that the airstrip, while in effective operation, was a very valuable asset in the company’s oil exploration and exploitation activities in terms of airlifting of personnel and equipment.
He said that during the years of its functionality, heavy equipment, company workers, captains of industry, top government functionaries and diplomats resorted to the route for easy access to the Niger Delta region.
He expressed regret that since the gradual decline of Shell’s operations in the area and final departure from Oloibiri oil field, the airstrip and the land, where it operated, have been abandoned and left desolate.
