by Isi Esene

Governor Rotimi Amaechi was on Friday stranded at the Akure Airport after attending the burial of the Ekiti Deputy Governor, Olufunmilayo Olayinka who recently died of cancer.

Reports say Amaechi’s Bombardier Jet was prevented from leaving Akure, the Ondo state capital on the orders of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). No official reason was, however, given for the delay.

A source said the pilot of the governor’s aircraft failed to file a flight plan or manifest of passengers on the jet aircraft while another source said the jet was prevented from flying because the presidential aircraft that brought Amina Sambo, the wife of Vice-President Namadi Sambo, to the airport from Abuja had not taken off.

Supo Atobatele, the spokesman of NAMA told newsmen that the governor’s aircraft was not allowed to take off to Port Harcourt because the pilot was yet to fulfill some technical requirement necessary for clearance.

He reportedly said, “By rule, a pilot has to file in the number of souls on board his or her aircraft. These are necessary things that you need to do. In the course of trying to do that, the 6pm deadline caught up with him because Akure airport is not on a 24-hour service like other major airports.

“We had to make other special logistics arrangement for the plane to take off later. If you want to fly after 6pm, we have to make a special arrangement, which we did. As I speak, the aircraft is already in Port Harcourt.”