Sokoto State governor Aliyu Magatakarda
Wamakko yesterday arrived in Nigeria after his suspension from the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but couldn’t land at the Sokoto airport on time
because of the crowd.
The governor who came in company of another
plane conveying federal lawmakers from the state had to hover in the air for a
long time before turning back to Kaduna.
The first plane conveying federal lawmakers
from the state landed at 4:15pm while the plane conveying Governor Wamakko was
expected to land two minutes later but couldn’t make it because supporters
crowded the tarmac.
The majority of the crowd which included party
loyalists, opposition party members, solidarity groups as well as area boys
crowded every nook and cranny of the state, including roads leading to the
airport, even as they continued to chant heroic welcoming songs for the
governor.
Governor Wamakko was recently suspended from
the PDP while he was out of the country.
Some of the youths who spoke to LEADERSHIP at
the airport maintained that come rain, come shine they were behind Wamakko,
even as others described his suspension by the ruling PDP as a mistake which
the party will regret should it fail to do the right thing in good time.
A Dornier 328 aircraft carrying Governor
Wamakko aborted landing at the Sokoto airport yesterday as a huge crowd of his
supporters defied security order and invaded the runway.
The governor who was returning from Abuja on
an official trip could not land as expected around 4:15 pm as his supporters
virtually trooped to the sterile area of the airport apparently to welcome him
back home.
Sensing the danger of landing the
aircraft amidst the crowd, the duty controller subsequently advised the pilot
to abort landing and divert to Kaduna airport.
The managing director of Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency (NAMA), Engr. Mazi Nnamdi Udoh, commended the initiative of
the duty controller and all other security agencies, particularly officials of
the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria for putting the situation under
control.
The special assistant, media, to aviation
minister Stella Oduah, Mr Joe Obi, also in a statement said, “The safety and
security precautionary measure followed the near-breakdown of law and order at
the Sokoto airport by an unruly crowd of Wamakko supporters who broke the fence
and was on their way to the tarmac, apparently to welcome the governor.
“Effort by security personnel to prevent the
breach of security and movement into the prohibited and restricted areas of the
airport was met with stiff resistance from the crowd.”
He said the governor and other passengers on
board had since returned and landed safely at the airport, after the unruly
crowd had been successfully restrained from entering the restricted zone.
Speaking with journalists in Sokoto yesterday,
Governor Wamakko said his suspension from the PDP had not changed his loyalty
to the ruling party and that he remained a loyal member of the PDP.
Source: Leadership
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