Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage has indicated her strong desire to have the proposed regional airport sited in Navrongo.
The proposed construction of the Upper East regional airport which has been part of infrastructural plans of past governments is yet to come to fruition due to lack of commitment and funding.
In 2017, a planned relocation of the proposed site for the airport to Sherigu sparked protests by residents of Sumburungu, a suburb of Bolgatanga which was earmarked to host the project. The residents of Sumburungu at a press conference accused the then Upper East Regional Minister, Rokson Bukar of deliberately attempting to relocate the airport from the Anateem site at Sumburungu, where they said significant resources had been invested, to a new site at Sherigu thus denying them of a project meant for them.
The residents of Sherigu responded subsequently in a counter press conference cautioning the people of Sumburungu to stop vilifying the then regional minister and allow experts to determine a suitable site for the proposed airport.
The disagreement over the siting of the airport was almost settled until the Aviation Minister and MP for Navrongo who was vying to be elected as the NPP parliamentary candidate indicated in a radio interview that there were plans to relocate the siting of the planned airport to his hometown, Navrongo.
This sparked even more outrage among people of the region particularly residents of Sumburungu.
But speaking in an interview on Bolgatanga based Yem Radio on Monday, September 14, Ms. Tangoba Abayage, who also hails from Navrongo and is contesting on the ticket of the NPP for the Navrongo Central Constituency seat said she wishes for the airport to be sited in Navrongo.
She stated that she will be glad if the technical committee, which she said has been constituted by the President to determine a suitable site for the airport following suggestions by chiefs of the BONABOTO area, settles on her hometown as the site for the construction of the airport.
“In my heart of hearts, I would wish it be Navrongo. If the technical committee sit and then advice the president that the airport should be in Navrongo, I will be over the moon. I will be one excited young champ,” she stated.
Madam Abayage, however, gave assurance of her readiness to accept the decision of the committee even if it goes against her wish and urged the people of the region to allow the technical committee to carryout its findings so as to advice on a suitable site for the airport.
“If the on the other hand, they advice the President that no, you can’t put it there but it has to go to Kulungugu, I’m better off driving 30 minutes to go and join a plane there to Accra than to drive 2 hours from here (Bolga) to Tamale. So I am requesting of all of us to let the technical team to do its work,” she said.
She also allayed fears of her influence on the decision of the committee. She stated that she has no intentions of influencing the decision of the committee adding that there will be room for redress for people who may be dissatisfied with the committee’s verdict.
