The Senate on Tuesday observed a minute’s silence for a retired Nigerian Ambassador, Abiodun Bashua, and popular columnist, Professor Pius Adesanmi.
The lawmakers paid tributes to the two men who died on March 10 in a tragedy that involved an airplane which crashed shortly after taking off from the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
During plenary, Senator Gbenga Ashafa had called the attention of his colleagues to the incident.
He said there was a need for Nigeria to protect its airspace from the Boeing 737 Max 8 series, pending the determination of its airworthiness by relevant agencies.
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On his part, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa commended the government for barring the 737 Max 8 aircraft from the nation;’s air space.
He, however, asked the Federal Government to use the opportunity to develop Nigeria’s national airline.
Senator Biodun Olujimi also corroborated Senator Ohuabunwa’s suggestion, noting “We need to own our own national airline so that we can have our own regulations to monitor our own aviation laws.”
In its resolve, the Senate commended the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority for moving swiftly in mitigating the operations of the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 series aircraft.
It asked them to ensure that all aircrafts operating within the country were airworthy in order to keep Nigerians safe at all times.
