The Chairman of the House Committee on Army, Abdul-Razak Namdas
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Army, Abdulrazak Namdas, has decried the safety of the Nigerian airspace.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, the lawmaker representing Jada/Ganye/MayoBelwa/Toungo Federal Constituency of Adamawa State described as devastating, a situation whereby the nation has recorded three air mishaps in two months.
He also called on the Federal Government to urgently remedy the situation to avoid further loss of lives.
“We have to be very cautious these days, we have recorded three air crashes in two months. This is very devastating,” the lawmaker said two days the nation recorded another plane crash in Kaduna State.
“We all have to go back to the drawing board and see what the reason is. It shows that our safety record is really very low and that can be very demoralising.”
The nation was thrown into mourning after a Nigerian Air Force jet crashed at the Kaduna International Airport due to bad weather.
Victims on board the ill-fated aircraft were the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, Brigadier Generals Ahmed Kuliya, O Olayinka, and MI Abdulkadir; Majors N Hamza, LA Hayat; Sergeants O Adesina, and Umar; as well as Aircraftman OM Oyedepo, Flt Lt TO Asaniyi, and Flt Lt AA Olufade.
The Beechcraft 350 aircraft conveying the military officers, with registration number 5N-R203, was billed to land at the Nigerian Airforce Base in the Mando area of Kaduna but diverted to land at the civil airport.
Despite the demise of the Army chief, the lawmaker believes there are still many professionals who have all it takes to effectively fight terrorism, banditry and other security threats.
He believes that with more funding for the armed forces, a lot will be achieved in winning the counterterrorism war.
His remarks come shortly after Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to treat military plane crashes as a national emergency.
CAN in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Secretary, Daramola Joseph, asked the Federal Government to ascertain that all planes are fit for flights before embarking on any trip.
“It is high time thorough investigations are carried out with a view to ascertaining the immediate and remote causes of these recurrent disasters and address the causes decisively and squarely,” the statement partly read.
“We cannot continue to lose our finest military and security officers to air disasters without treating the situation as a national emergency.
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