Facebook user’s claims on Abia Airport, misleading

Claim: On Dec. 18, 2024, a Facebook page called Aba Blog posted an image claiming it was the new Abia State Airport. 

Verdict: Misleading. DUBAWA findings show that the images in the post are from the Zayed International Airport, also known as Abu Dhabi International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates. 

Full Text

On Dec. 18, 2024, a Facebook page called Aba Blog posted an image with the caption, “Abia Airport Nsulu: 5 minutes drive to Umuahia, 10 minutes drive to Aba. A new dawn is here.”

Another Facebook user, John Kennedy, posted the same picture with the caption, “THIS IS ABIA AIRPORT. CONGRATULATIONS TO US.”

While this image looked foreign, users in the comment section of the posts believed it was true and praised the state governor. 

This prompted DUBAWA to conduct a fact-check to verify whether the image was of Abia State Airport.

Verification

DUBAWA conducted a Google Reverse Image Search on the shared images to verify the claim’s authenticity. The findings revealed that the images are not of Zayed International Airport, also known as Abu Dhabi International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The airport serves as the primary international airport for Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital. It is the second-busiest airport in the country, a hub for Etihad Airways, and an operating base for Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi.

Further findings by DUBAWA revealed that construction work on the Abia State airport project had just been flagged off. 

On Dec. 17, 2024, the governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, alongside Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Abia Airport in Nsulu, Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area.

The project is primarily a Federal Government initiative, with the state government contributing to runway upgrades. On Dec. 22, 2024, Governor Alex Otti disclosed his target of completing the airport project in 24 months, despite the contractor’s 36-month contractual agreement.

Conclusion

DUBAWA’s findings show that the images are not from the Zayed International Airport, also known as Abu Dhabi International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or the Abia State Airport, which is yet to be constructed. Thus, the claim is misleading.