It was a day of joy in Bayelsa State on the commemoration of St. Valentine’s Day, a day set out to celebrate love, as the first airplane marked 5N-BUV, touched down at the newly-built Bayelsa International Airport in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw.
A second flight, an inaugural flight flew the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, from Abuja to land at the new Bayelsa International Airport, where a jubilant crowd waited to receive the Governor, his wife and entourage at the inaugural launch.
Speaking at the event, the Governor said the airport project was executed in fulfillment of his promise of bringing the world to Bayelsa and taking Bayelsa to the world.
Dickson, further described the airport as one of the best in the country, noting that it was built to improve the economy of the state and would soon be fully inaugurated for both local and international flight.
Congratulating the people of the state for the achievement, Dickson said the state government handled the entire project without input from the Federal Government or the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The Governor, took a swipe at critics of the project, particularly the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri for saying the state government spent between N120 billion and N150 billion on the project, a statement which the Governor discredited, putting the cost of the airport project at about N60 billion.
Also speaking at the inaugural launch, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Daniel Iworisima, assured that the airport would create over 2,000 direct and indirect jobs for the people of the state.
Iworisima further described the airport as a Valentine’s Day gift to the people of the state, noting that the airport was built for business, especially the oil and gas industry and has no political undertone.
