…As FG enters talks with Rivers government
The pilots of Caverton Helicopters detained by the Rivers State Governemnt may regain their freedom soon as the Federal Government has begun talks with the state government to release them.
The pilots were arrested by the police on the orders of Governor Nyesom Wike for flouting the state’s government directive of flying into the Air Force Base in Port Harcourt despite the lockdown order following the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Today at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Engineer Hassan Musa, said there was a need to fast track their release considering threats by various unions in the aviation sector to embark on strike.
“The Federal government is in consultation with the Rivers state government to have them released as soon as possible because their arrest is taking a different dimension as Air Traffic Union and other unions in the aviation sector are threatening to go on strike,” he said.
He added: “We hope that this misunderstanding will soon be resolved so that we can have them out as their operation was legal.”