By Moses Patience Chat
The Management of the International Aviation College (IAC), Ilorin, has appealed to the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahmanAbdulrazaq, to come to the aid of the college so as to remain in operation.
Acting Rector of the College, Captain Yakubu Okatahi, made the appeal when the Governor paid an official visit to the College, where he decorated five graduating students who have completed their commercial and private pilot license courses.
Okatahi and other officials of the College commended the Governor for the regular subvention to the College, which has enabled the school to remain in operation.
He said the Governor’s recent release of N75 million enabled the College to purchase a new aircraft engine and propeller, 10,000 litres of Jet-A1, and repair the College’s fuel dump, among others.
The Rector, however, appealed to the Governor for increased funding of the College to enable it to meet all the requirements stipulated by the regulatory authorities.
Okatahi told the Governor that the present Management inherited 55 students when it came on board in March 2022, adding that 27 of them had graduated. He said the College could do better with sufficient funding from the state government. He, however, assured the Governor that the current Management would not disappoint the State for the trust and confidence reposed in it.
Registrar of the College, Mohammed Jimada Jibril, congratulated the Governor on his re-election for a second tenure, and his election as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
He pleaded with the Governor for the upward review of the monthly subvention of the College to enable it to implement a salary structure for its staff as obtained in sister institutions like NCAT, Zaria, Kaduna State.
The Governor, who decorated some of the graduating students, urged the College to put all its needs in writing to his office. He advised the Management of the College to avoid a repeat of the mismanagement that stalled the progress of the institution with the withdrawal of the Nigerian Air Force and Navy from the College.
“With effective management, I believe Aviation College can attain autonomy and self-sufficiency in terms of funding. Our aim for the school is to achieve this, instead of relying on subvention from the government,” he said.
The College is an aviation institution owned and promoted by the Government of Kwara state, and the inspiration for establishing the institution was derived solely from the need to address the global shortage of well-trained pilots and other aviation professionals evident in Nigeria. This is underscored by the need gap in major airlines, oil and gas companies, corporate entities and individual private aircraft owners.
Its Management however insists that its adequate funding is necessary to prevent it from being shut down by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).