In the last 48 hours, several community news sources in large parts of Cross River State, have called www.calitown.com to report of mild scares in their communities, after repeated low flights over these communities undertaken by a yellow Aircraft with registration number, ZS – YAZ.
But investigations by www.calitown.com reveal that the low flying aircraft, an Air Tractor AT-802, is conducting an Airborne Geophysical Survey on behalf of the Federal Government through the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification, MINDIVER project, a World Bank-assisted project in Nineteen (19) states of the federation, covering 112 local government areas, to determine accurate mineral location using modern-day aero-magnetic mechanism.
“The states to be covered by the survey are Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, and Ebonyi. Enugu, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Niger, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Bauchi, and the F.C.T” are also to be covered, a document sited by www.calitown.com said.
According to the document, the strategy adopted by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development aligns with the Africa mining vision policy framework created by the African Union in 2009.
“Our people have no cause to be alarmed or begin to get unsettled if they see these flights. They should go about their businesses, entertaining no fears as they will see more of these flights in the days to come”, we were told by a source in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Abuja.
