Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has revealed that the state was denied approval for the Minna Airport to operate as cargo airport because he belonged to the group of seven governors also known as G7 Governors that were opposed to then Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led Peoples Democratic Party.
The governor stated this yesterday while playing host to the Minister of Sstate for Agriculture representing Niger State, Hajiya Asabe Asmau Mohammed at the Government House, Minna.
According to Aliyu, the state was denied by the Ministry of Aviation the approval to operate the cargo airport because he was not in the good books of the federal government then.
He stated that the federal government instead gave the approval to other states that never applied for the cargo zone just because they were not members of the G7 governors.
Gov. Aliyu, who was the self-styled leader of the ‘rebel governors’, said that was not the reason behind his decision not to join five of his colleagues that defected to the opposition party, recalling that, “The initial arrangement was not to leave PDP that was why I said ‘no’, when my colleagues decided to leave the party”.
The Niger governor, who has since reconciled his grievances with the party, therefore appealed to the presidency to reverse such punitive measures against the state and correct it because he did not leave PDP, adding that Nigerian politics whereby people are punished for disagreeing on issues was not good.
According to him “Cargo Zone in Minna will contribute immensely to the economic development of Niger State and the entire country”.