Residents in some areas in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, are worried about an unidentified yellow aircraft flying at a low level for more than three days in their respective areas.
It was gathered that the aircraft takes off from somewhere around Moniya, where it hovers around communities in the state.
Aside from Akobo, the aircraft has also been sighted at Challenge, Basorun, IITA, Moniya, and other communities within the state.
While the Oyo State Government has yet to announce the aircraft’s purpose, residents have continued to be apprehensive.
However, an anonymous source says it may be related to a circular released by the Ministry of Mine and Steel Development months ago. The circular notified the general public that the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MINDIVER) project, a World Bank-assisted project under the Ministry of Mine and Steel Development, will embark on an Airborne Geophysical Survey Activity in Nineteen (19) states of the federation (covering 112 local Government areas) to determine the accurate location of minerals using the modern-day aeromagnetic mechanism.
The states to be covered by the survey includes; Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, and Ebonyi. Others are Enugu, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Niger, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Bauchi, and the F.C.T
The minister stated that the survey aircraft will measure the minor variation in the earth’s magnetic fields and gamma radiation in the soil.
It is a positive technique that does not involve sending signals or sound waves into the ground, making it a safe aerial survey.
In the statement, the ministry called on the state and local governments that would be covered by this survey not to panic, either because of the aircraft’s loud noise due to its low flying altitude or its pattern of movement.
