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Abdulfatah Ahmed, Kwara state Governor, has explained that the state government established the International Aviation College (IAC), Ilorin, primarily to help the Country save its hard earned foreign exchange, empower and improve capacity of stakeholders in the aviation industry.
Speaking during a courtesy call on him by Johnson Olawumi, a Major-General in the Nigerian army and coordinator, Nigerian Army Aviation, at Government House, Ilorin, Ahmed said the need to make Kwara a state of preference by investors and improve turnaround time of training regular pilots in the country are among the reasons for the establishment of the college.
The Governor said: “the last six years have witnessed an improved capacity building at the college as well as strengthening of assets to benchmark the college against best practices in the aviation industry.”
He expressed happiness that the college facilities met the Armed Forces training standards, saying the state is at the level of increasing the number of aircrafts and replacing old engines to ensure that the college becomes much more enabling for training aviators.
The Governor who said the coming of the Nigerian Army Aviation Corps will give the state additional push to fast track all the necessary areas requiring added assets and equipment, stressed that the state is poised to strengthening relationship with the Nigerian Army through establishment of additional institutions like Command Secondary Schools.
Earlier, Olawumi had said the facility and environment at the International Aviation College, Ilorin satisfy the requirements of the Nigerian Army Aviation, saying that the five pilots sponsored by the Nigerian Army to the college expressed preference to return to Ilorin for further training.
According to Olawumi, Tukur Yusuf Buratai, Chief of Army Staff directed him to visit the state in order to ascertain the state of the college for training of its officers and partner IAC as a way of strengthening local institutions and saving foreign exchange.
SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin
