Members of the National Assembly, on Thursday, lamented the deplorable condition of public facilities at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, in Abuja. 

The Federal legislators, who are from the House of Representatives – an arm of the National Assembly, particularly asked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently fix the faulty “escalator and lifts” at the country’s International Airport. 

The lawmakers, who spoke during a motion of urgent national importance, at a plenary session, also said Mr Buhari’s regime needed to provide more airside buses and conveying belts at the airports across the country.

Onofiok Luke, one of the federal lawmakers from Akwa Ibom, who specifically moved the motion, decried how some of the facilities at the federal airports have become comatose and obsolete.

Mr Luke said the breakdown of some of the facilities in the country’s airports has grievously caused passengers inconveniences and had also delayed air travellers. 

“These lifts at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport usually help in easing the movements of passengers to the departure lounge, 

“Now, it has a breakdown and causes serious inconveniences to the elderly and air travellers with disabilities,” he added. 

While noting that the situation already constitutes a major setback to the free movement of air travellers, the federal lawmaker observed that the dysfunctionality of the facilities is now forcing air passengers to use the staircase.  

He further added that the insufficiency of airside buses conveying passengers, especially during the peak hours of 10 am to 12 noon, and the lack of conveying belts to transfer passengers’ bags from checkpoints to the baggage sorting area, led to delays in flight departure. 

Mr Luke, however, said there was a need to repair the facilities and provide new infrastructure at the Airports for efficient service delivery to air travellers.