President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of an African University of Aerospace and Aviation, allotting the sum of N1 Billion naira for its development.

The announcement was made by Senator Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation, on a working visit to the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Rasheed Abubakar, in Abuja on Friday.

The specialist university, which is to be located in Abuja, Mr Sirika said, would be dedicated to research and development in civil aviation and aerospace technology.

“I think we should be able to have this university that is dedicated to aerospace and aviation in addition to the production of high-level manpower.”

Mr Sirika stated that the decision to set up the  University was fuelled by the need to fill gaps in the growth and development of the aviation sector.

“An example is the development of drones or unmanned vehicles that are now taking over space, delivering cargo, delivering mail, delivering things and very soon delivering human beings,” Mr Sirika said, “This is a new frontier in civil aviation that needs to be developed.

In response, the National Universities Commission (NUC) made assurances that the body would quickly go over the concept document submitted by Mr Sirika for the establishment of the university. 

Mr Abubakar maintained that  the commission is  committed to ensure that guidelines for the university’s establishment would be adhered to before granting its approval.