.Readies to commission state airport
By Amos Okioma
The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, on Tuesday visited the Niger Delta Television (NDTV) to inspect the ongoing work on the station’s mast.
The mast is being reduced to 300 feet to pave the way for the commencement of test-flight operations and the commissioning of the Bayelsa International Airport.
Iworiso-Markson said that without the reduction of the mast, flights would not operate, as the NDTV is located at the gateway of the airport.
He explained that due to its importance, the government decided to temporarily suspend the operations of the NDTV and apologized to the station’s esteemed viewers.
The Commissioner described the ongoing work as highly technical and encouraged the technical team to ensure that, they meet the deadline for the completion of the work.
“The mast from the report I’m getting from the team of engineers, who are working on it, they are saying that at the end of this month it will come down to 300 feet.
“Hopefully there will be test flight at the airport so airplane can land at the airport. The Mast at that time will not constitute any kind of obstruction, as we are hoping and believing that the engineers will not fail us as they have promised not to.
“We have to evacuate the staff of NDTV given the danger that it poses to our workers. It is part of our pro-activeness to ensure that, we do everything to safeguard the lives of people especially workers here.
“I want to ensure safety first. It will be a tragedy that anything happens to anybody here. Much as we want the mast to go down as quickly as possible, it is important to put safety first and we have taken measures to ensure that utmost priority is given to safeguard the lives of everyone here. That is the reason why it is taking us time for the mast to come down but the antenna has come down already and other items will follow”.
On his part, the Head of the technical team, Engr. Solomon Wongle assured that, they will do everything to meet the time frame, explaining that, they have also employed all safety measures in the course of the work.
