The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, Monday in Abuja, stated that Nigeria is equidistant to most countries in the world and as such should be a major hub in Africa.
He stated this in his office when the Canadian High Commissioner in Nigeria paid him a courtesy call.
Keyamo, said that the growing number of Nigerians in Canada is alarming and as such Nigeria should have a direct route to Canada.
He said most flights to Canada are transit and modalities need to be put in place to support the population there.
Keyamo noted that Nigeria has a long-standing relationship with Canada and may be looking at areas of cargo development since lots of Nigerian eateries are springing up in Canada.
The minister stressed that a focal person from the ministry would be appointed to firm up arrangement in terms of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Canada and Nigeria as regards direct route, repository, cargo flight and the proposed side meeting in Canada for business investments.
Speaking earlier, the Canadian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Jamie Christoff, said Nigeria has a student population of about 18 thousand in Canada with a growing population in various sectors.
He said modalities would be put in place to see the possibility of a direct route to Canada, stating: “Canada has a large aviation sector of about 20 billion Dollars and he is willing to introduce private sector investors to Nigeria.”