The newly inaugurated Anambra International Cargo Airport, Umueri stands out as the most auspicious singular physical infrastructure capable of significantly enhancing the face of commerce, industrialization and the entire economy of Anambra State. This is the brainchild of the Governor Willie Obiano administration. It will equally catapult the international trade interests of the South East to the Olympian heights.
Anambra Airport City project, also referred to as Umueri Airport and Anambra Cargo Airport, was launched in April 2017. Featuring as best Airport In Nigeria with 5.7km, a two runway With CAT II & ILS Systems, Airport To Be Ready By April 2021, 2x 1km Racer, No Money Was Borrowed (Gov. Obiano), the Only Airport In Nigeria With GSP Satellite Landing System, all the Steel Fabrication done in Aba, costing more than USD2.2 billion was announced by the governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano.
A two-runway airport with an airport hotel, Business Park, International Convention Centre along with aviation fuel and aircraft maintenance facilities.
Interestingly, the history of the project portrays the wisdom in the strategic economic permutations of Dr. Chris Ngige and Mr. Peter Obi, both remarkable former Anambra State governors. During their administrations the parcels of land at the present sight of the Cargo Airport were variously duly acquired without let to the rights and privileges of the Ivite-Umueri community, the customary owners of the project sight.
Verifiable records have it that the original intention of Orient Petroleum Resources Limited, a petroleum outfit employed by the Anambra State Government, to merely site an airstrip at Ivite-Umueri to service sales of aviation fuel from its refinery was reviewed by the State. Government’s latter preference was for a full-blown mega International Cargo Airport that will integrate the aviation fuel sales and cargo services.
To attain the new target, the search party for an appropriate site that would adequately provide for the expanded demands of the venture opted for Ivite-Umueri which had Igbariam in close competition.
According to findings, Dr. Chris Ngige secured Parcel A, while Mr. Peter Obi secured Parcels B, C & D and went ahead to consolidate statutory acquisition of Parcels A, B, C & D via a process that included but not limited to a duly documented and appropriately published “notice of revocation of rights of occupancy issued under the land use act cap 202 law of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1990” signed by Governor Peter Obi on the 27th of July, 2010. This was well over three calendar years before the emergence of Governor Willie Obiano as Peter Obi’s successor.
“These Parcels of land did not suffer any haphazard or arbitrary delineation. Due processes and professional international best practices were deployed in their survey – with coordinates that bear them out. While Parcel A measures 760.279 hectares, Parcel B measures 539.781 hectares; and Parcels C and D measure 276.746 hectares and 324.894 hectares respectively. These figures summing up to 1901.7 hectares did not happen howsoever”. NO!
On the 24th of November, 2011, via a letter entitled “re-acquisition notice in respect of parcels a, b, c and d of land measuring approximately 1901.70 hectares shown on survey plan no Ano (a)108 for the establishment of Anambra International Cargo Airport”. The Anambra State Government invited “representatives of Ivite-Umueri Community as well as their representative registered land Surveyor for a joint inspection of the above site.”
Ministry of Lands, Survey and Town Planning officials; representatives of Umuefi Nteje (a community contiguous to Ivite-Umueri) and their registered land Surveyor were also invited. Each of the communities was asked to appoint four representatives exclusive of their land Surveyor and Estate Surveyor. This joint physical inspection exercise was conducted to enable straightening of any doubts there might be about actual demarcation points of the parcels of land so demised to Anambra State Government.
However, the Anambra State Government, in 2012, paid a monetary compensation of N145,520,021 (One hundred and forty-five million, five hundred and twenty thousand and twenty-one naira) to the Ivite-Umueri community (the customary land owners) as compensation for Parcel A of project site. This transaction was effected through the duly appointed Attorneys of Ivite-Umueri community: Messrs. Cele Ugonabo & Co, and Gilbert Nwanna & Partners.
In a letter of the Ivite-Umueri Consultative Assembly to the Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Lands, Awka, Anambra State jointly signed by Engr. Pius Achiebo (Chairman) and Mr. Jideovo Oyi-Onyeogu (Secretary General), dated 9 – 11 – 2016, they, while acknowledging receipt of compensation (though they said the payment was made “sometime in 2014” against Government’s record of payment in 2012), pleaded with the Commissioner as follows, “We therefore plead to our amiable Commissioner to use his good office and ensure that the payments in respect of parcels B, C, and D, are paid to Ivite Umueri through our Attorney, Gilbert Nwanna.” They also appealed to the Commissioner to “come and ascertain the extent of revocation so as to enable the land owners to make use of their adjourning land by placing long beacons on their own.”
Evidently, with the conclusion of enumeration and Environmental Impact Assessment, and full payment of compensation by the State Government in respect of Parcel A (N145,520,021 paid in 2012) and Parcel B (N142,251,240 paid in two installments of N72,251,240 and N70,000,000 in 2016 and November 2019 respectively), the Government sufficiently expressed its determination to walk its talk on the Airport Project.
It however took the unprecedented commitment of Governor Willie Obiano, who effected compensation payment for Parcel B, for the Anambra State Government to fully mobilise to site pursuant to making the Airport dream come alive; hence the unrestrained speed of high profile construction work at the project site, as well as the successes the Governor is making in the intangible realms of seeking endorsements from relevant Federal Government and International Authorities for unhindered resumption of operations of the Airport when the speedily ongoing infrastructural demands would have been met.
With the spate of developments towards the realization and actualization of the Anambra State International Cargo Airport, Umueri, every progressive and fair-spirited person, particularly those in whose immediate neighbourhood the project domiciles, should be jubilantly awaiting the birth and flourish of the venture. But to one’s utter consternation, indigenous Ivite-Umueri fellows have on many occasions carried out protest in total abdication of the whole agreement with the state government.
People of Umuopo, Umuinu and Enuagu kindreds in Umueri, north of the airport site, stated that they were being dispossessed of their remaining portions of land and had been “thrown into pains and agony“. They said the government was deliberately making them refugees in their own land
They accused Governor Willie Obiano and government officials of partitioning their land for personal use leading to the breach of initial agreement. The chairman of the community, Uchenna Ndumanya, who described the development as unfortunate said, “We are the people of Ifite Umueri. We are the people that donated the airport land to the Anambra State Government during Dr. Chris Ngige’s administration, about 14 years ago. When we donated the land, we gave them about 729.66 hectares, but now they have left that particular place we donated to them and just encroached on our individual lands.
“They are now encroaching on about 1,901 hectares, about three times of what we gave them. We had our first protest on the matter in 2019. And since then, nothing has been done. We’ve petitioned the Commissioner of Police and the Department of State Services, but nothing has happened. We’ve gone to the governor’s office and the SSG’s office. Day-by-day, they are building on the land with impunity and sharing the land among themselves, he added.
The women wing not left out of the doldrum, accused Gov. Obiano and Engr. Marcel Ifejiofor, both indigenous to Aguleri, of prosecuting a territorial expansion agenda of Aguleri people by facilitating the inauguration of the Airport operations with a view to adopting the project for the Aguleri community.
It was also reported that residents of Ifite Nteje, a community to the south of the Anambra airport project, were suffering from violence meted out by youths who had seized communal lands. A band of youths had ‘unleashed mayhem on the community, sacking villagers from their homes’. People opposing sale of their communal land had been beaten with many being injured and homes had been burned down.
Members of the community said the crisis had ‘brought hunger and famine as they no longer have land for farming’ and ‘they dared not to go to their farms anymore for fear of being maimed, while the women among them were raped’. One woman, a widow, said their formerly peaceful community had been taken over by violence and she was one of many women who no longer had land to farm that they needed to feed their families.
Chief Obiano seem not to be deterred and distracted by the aggressive activities of these three villages. On the 4th November, 2021 through the Anambra State Government set aside another 5.8 billion Naira (USD15.2 million) for completion of the Anambra Airport project during the presentation of the 2021 Appropriation Bill.
Birth of a new society:
Governor Willie Obiano has stoutly demonstrated his resolve to birth the Anambra International Cargo Airport, Umueri, regardless of the challenges, he has taken giant strides to increasingly expand the frontiers of good governance as long as his term runs and even after.
When the flights touched down at the Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport, Umueri and taxied to the apron, the joyous crowd ran towards the airplanes excitedly, waving and dancing. Their smiles reminiscent of a people witnessing a promise fulfilled and a pride restored was beyond comparison
Just a few weeks ago, at the launch of a book chronicling the achievements of Governor of Anambra state in the past seven years, the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano mentioned that his greatest desire was to bequeath lasting legacies to ndi Anambra that will ensure their safety and prosperity. Speaking on the import of the world class airport in Umueri, the Governor said that he “wants every “onye Anambra” in any part of the world to walk tall and be proud of his home”.
The promise stands fulfilled today, April 30, 2021 as ndi Anambra, ndi lgbo and the world witnessed the demonstration and inaugural test-landing of airplanes in the airport. Two airplanes from the fleet of Air Peace owner, Dr Allen Onyema and a private jet belonging to Chairman of Afrinvest, Ike Chioke, landed comfortably at the airport.
With about the longest runway in Nigeria at 3.7km and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as CAT-3 lighting, a satellite landing system, an eleven storey control tower and a world class terminal, the Anambra State International Cargo/Passenger airport is already described by aviation experts as the best in sub saharan Africa.
Pundits are having their best times calculating and analysing the benefits of the airport to the socio-economic development of Anambra State in particular and the southeast region in general. The wave of excitement transcends beyond Umueri to the farthest parts of the world where umu Anambra and umu Igbo sojourn and toil for daily living. Many are looking forward to the commissioning of the airport as they wait to land in their homeland for the first time in history.
Some have already coined this phrase: “Goodnight China – Good morning Anambra” to capture their hopes and dreams. This is surely a victory for Ndi Anambra.
Histroy will indeed be kind to Gov Obiano and his wife, Dr (Mrs) Ebelechukwu Obiano and of course his entire team for bringing hope to a people and for restoring their pride. With less than a year to the end of his tenure, there’s no doubt that he will complete other legacy projects initiated by his administration and end strong.
What next after the landing?
Dr Chris Azubogu, one of the Anambra gubernatorial aspirant noted that “the right thing is to focus on how to create thriving economic activities that will attract traffic to the airport and make it more viable. Installation of infrastructure will advance our quest to lead in the manufacturing sector and exportation of goods from through the Airport and thereby making it viable”.
Hence, Anambra State will also have to pursue the agro-processing hub project within the Omambala area, which will add value to the Airport, increase employability and revenue generating opportunities.
Through intergovernmental relations, existing government will have to collaborate with other neighbouring states and Federal Government to construct Anambra/Kogi road via Anambra West LGA and Anambra/Enugu road via Ayamelum LGA, this will make the Airport easily accessible also to make the airport also accessible to people from neighbouring part of Kogi and Enugu states.
I would rather postulate that the general focus is to stimulate strong economic activities that will fuel aviation transportation activities through the state Airport and bring in an enviable height of world class development in Anambra, indeed, Anambra Airport is a legacy project, thanks to Obiano administration.
