FEDERAL aviation authorities have started building a helipad in President Muhammadu Buhari's hometown of Daura that will enable him fly directly there from Abuja and avoid the cumbersome journey through Katsina. 

At the moment, whenever President Buhari wants to visit Daura, he flies to Katsina, the state capital and then drives overland to his country home. With the construction of the helipad, it will save President Buhari the hassle of embarking on a road journey from Katsina Airport as he will be able to fly in one of the presidential helicopters straight to Daura and by-pass Katsina Airport completely. 

One presidency source said: “I can tell you that right now, they are building a helipad in Daura and when it is completed he doesn’t have to fly to Katsina Airport again. Helipad is a kind of landing for helicopters. 

 “The maximum number of functional planes we have right now is six and out of that six, there is a high usage for it. Consider that last week in one day, the president used one to Katsina, the vice president used the other one to Lagos and the senate president used the third one to meet President Olusegun Obasanjo at Abeokuta via Lagos and later to Ilorin, Kwara State." 

President Buhari has directed that nine of the VIP transport aircraft in the presidential fleet should be sold as part of the federal government’s cost-saving measures. Although the presidency has since denied such directives but industry sources have confirmed that such plans are in the pipeline.