Gov Diri Appoints Nelson Ebieteli As Managing Director, Bayelsa Airport

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has approved the appointment of a seasoned military officer and administrator, Air Vice Marshal Nelson Ebieteli Calmday (retired), as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bayelsa State International Airport.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, on Friday, disclosed that the appointment takes immediate effect.

AVM Calmday was born on May 24, 1966 and hails from Nembe in Nembe Local Government Area of the state.

He was member of the Nigerian Defence Academy 37 Regular Course and upon graduation was commissioned to the rank of Pilot Officer on September 22, 1990. He progressed through the ranks and was promoted Air Vice Marshal on November 20, 2017 (effective September 27, 2017), which he held until his retirement in 2023.

Calmday obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from NDA, a Master of Science degree in Political Science at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria as well as a Master of Science degree in Strategic Studies at the University of Ibadan.

He also attended the Student Pilot Course 30 and graduated on the Air Beetle (ABT -18) aircraft at the 301 Flying Training School Kaduna in December 1995.

On re-assignment of Air Force Specialty in 2000, he attended the Initial Personnel and Administrative Management Officers Course (IPAMOC) at 325 Ground Training Group (325 GTG) Kaduna in 2001. He was also a member of the Junior Course 50 in 2000 and Senior Course 25 in 2002, both at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, and was awarded the psc.

The retired officer equally undertook ICT and other advanced management courses in Nigeria, South Africa and United Kingdom.

Calmday held several Command and Staff appointments, which included Acting Commanding Officer (CO) 31 Engineering Wing Kaduna (September1996 – March1997), Zonal Commander, Kaduna State Internal Security Task Force (March 1997 – April 1998) and Chairman, Kaduna State Petroleum Products Distribution Task Force (April 1998 – May 1999). Subsequently, he was posted to HQ NAF as Welfare Officer to Chief of the Air Staff (July 1999 – July 2000), SO1 Administration at Headquarters Training Command, Kaduna (July 2001 – July 2002) and Military Assistant to Air Officer Administration (2003).

Thereafter, he was the Group Administration Officer at 97 Special Operations Group PHC (February – December 2004), Directing Staff at AFCSC Jaji (January 2005 – October 2006) and SO1 Administration at National War College (NWC now NDC) Abuja (October 2006 – June 2007) among other positions and postings.

The airport is located at Wilberforce Island, Amassama, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State

It was commissioned for construction in 2012 by Governor Henry Seriake Dickson
– It had its inaugural flight on February 14, 2019 and it was officially commissioned for operation on February 10, 2020.

The airport was granted approval for commercial flight operations on April 17, 2021
even as it has been criticized for poor design and for being an example of unplanned development.

The cost of the project has varied, with different sources citing different figures

The road to the airport has been described as an embarrassment, with thatched houses and a filthy market along the way