MY REMARKS ON THE ENUGU AIR RUNWAY EXCURSION AT BENIN AIRPORT
I received, with profound relief, the news of the runway excursion involving an Enugu Air aircraft during its landing at Benin Airport today.
First, I join all Nigerians in expressing heartfelt gratitude to God Almighty that all 68 passengers and crew members on board disembarked safely, with no injuries or casualties recorded. The safety of human lives must always remain our highest priority.
I commend the pilot, the flight crew, and the airport emergency response teams at Benin Airport for their swift and professional handling of the situation, which averted what could have been a major tragedy. Their calmness and decisiveness under pressure are deeply commendable.
While we celebrate this safe outcome, the incident serves as a sober reminder of the critical need for strict adherence to aviation safety protocols, rigorous routine maintenance, and continuous infrastructure upgrades across our airports nationwide.
I urge the relevant regulatory and investigative bodies—particularly the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB)—to conduct a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation into the root cause of this incident.
Learning from occurrences such as this is essential to strengthening public confidence in our aviation sector and ensuring that our skies remain consistently safe.
May God continue to guide and protect all travellers across our nation. – PO
Why the voter registration exercise should be extended.
As we continue to encourage Nigerians to participate actively in our democracy, I respectfully appeal to INEC to consider extending the voter registration window to the latest practical date that still allows adequate time for the preparation of a credible voters’ register before the 2027 general elections.
Every day, more young Nigerians attain the age of 18 and become constitutionally eligible to vote. They are not just our future; they are stakeholders in our present. It would be unfortunate if many of them were denied the opportunity to exercise their civic responsibility simply because the registration process closed long before the elections.
Moreover, this position is legally supported by the High Court judgment delivered on 22 November 2022 in Anaja Salmat & 3 Others v. INEC (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1342/2022). In that decision, the Federal High Court held that voter registration should continue until 90 days before a general election to protect the constitutional voting rights of eligible Nigerians.
I appreciate the enormous responsibility placed on INEC to deliver free, fair, and credible elections. I also recognise the need for sufficient time to clean the register and make the necessary logistical preparations. However, our electoral process should, as much as possible, maximise participation rather than limit it.
A democracy is strengthened when every eligible citizen has the opportunity to be heard. I therefore urge INEC to adopt a registration timeline that protects the integrity of the process while ensuring that no eligible Nigerian, especially our young people, is unnecessarily disenfranchised. -PO
Banter aside this is getting out of hand. You can dislike the guy but it doesn’t make sense to start lying about his stats.
Messi also led in most penalties missed