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« Forget third term, Buhari tells Obasanjo | Main | Nigeria's counting controversy »

December 19, 2005

Big shake-up for Nigeria airlines

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has ordered a major shake-up of the aviation sector after Saturday's plane crash that killed over 100 people.

He has grounded two airlines and said all aircraft flying in Nigeria would undergo safety checks within a week.

Mr Obasanjo also said corruption had tainted the sector, causing deaths. He had earlier angrily criticised aviation officials live on television.

The crash was Nigeria's second major air disaster in less than two months.

'Sit down'

Mr Obasanjo said concerns had been raised about the safety of aircraft belonging to Sosoliso before one of its planes crashed, although he had not been informed until after the disaster.

He grounded the entire Sosoliso fleet, along with that of another airline, Chanchangi, with immediate effect.

Seven of the 109 people on board the plane were pulled out of the wreckage alive but four of these have since died.

The plane overshot the runway in Port Harcourt and burst into flame.

A memorial service is being held there for the victims who included 71 pupils from the same secondary school.

Before announcing the shake-up, Mr Obasanjo publicly dressed down the head of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Fidelis Onyeyiri

"If you have nothing to say go and sit down," he shouted during a meeting broadcast on national television.

He was listing his responsibilities, when he was interrupted by Mr Obasanjo, reports Reuters news agency.

"If you were doing all this that you claim you are doing we wouldn't have the discussion we are having, so who do you think you are talking to here?" the president said.

"There's a lot of corner-cutting, and corner-cutting at the expense of precious lives of Nigerians," he said bemoaning the levels of corruption in the aviation sector.

He has also sacked the permanent secretary in the aviation ministry, Tommy Oyelade, and another senior official.

Burning

Investigators have begun sifting through the wreckage of the DC-9 and analysing the flight data recorders after the crash which it is now known killed 106 people.

A Catholic Archbishop, John Onaiyekan of Abuja, said 71 pupils from Abuja's Ignatius Loyola Jesuit College died in the crash.

They had been on their way home for the Christmas holidays.

Many of the pupils' families had been at Port Harcourt's airport to collect their children and witnessed the crash in the capital of Nigeria's main oil-producing region.

"We watched it happen. It was terrible. We just watched our children burning without being able to help," said Ngozi Ugochukwu, who lost her 13-year-old son in the crash, is quoted by Reuters as saying.

The plane, which was flying from the capital, Abuja, is believed to have been caught in stormy weather.

The Nigerian Bar Association has called for the immediate sack of the aviation minister and have offered a free legal service to families of the victims of Saturday's crash.

Posted by Publisher at December 19, 2005 08:27 AM

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