- Reverses airports concessioning
- FG shuts down Murtala Muhammed Airport
BY CHINYERE OBIORA – With the marching orders from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for members of the newly constituted Federal Executive Council (FEC) to hit the ground running, Nigerians may be warning up to a season of policy reversals by the current administration
Already, there are early signs as Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN) on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of the national carrier project, Nigeria Air and airports’ concession, regarded as two major bright spots of the aviation roadmap implemented by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
Keyamo, who gave the directives during his maiden tour of Nigeria’s busiest airport, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, said the concession and national carrier would be on hold until further notice
This is as he has also directed all international airlines to vacate the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) by October 1, 2023, when the old terminal will be shut down for total rehabilitation
According to him, the order became necessary to give room for comprehensive maintenance work at the airport, adding that all the airlines and companies operating in the airport should temporarily relocate to the new terminal – MMIA Terminal 2
The Minister, who was accompanied by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Kabir Yusuf Mohammed, specifically said all contracts, projects, and concessions in the nation’s aviation sector have been suspended until further notice.
Interestingly, the national carrier and the concession projects were enmeshed in controversies following the perceived ‘hasty and rushed’ approval just days before the tenure expiration of the Buhari administration.
Eyebrows were raised over what the Federal Government termed its successful concession of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Defending the arrangement, the then Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the Minister of Aviation, James Odaudu, stated that the concessions were approved by FEC, adding that the Corporacion American Airport Consortium (CAAC), comprising the Corporation American Airports, Mota Engil Africa, and Mota Engil Nigeria, emerged as the preferred bidder
By the concession package, the CAAC was expected to make an advance payment of $7 million for Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (NAIA), and $1.5 million for the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano (MAKIA).
Similarly, the Nigeria Air project was not spared the controversy against the backdrop of its shadow launch that took place on May 26, about 72 hours before the May 29, 2023, swearing-in date of President Tinubu.
Many stakeholders in the aviation sector had expressed concern that such an arrangement was made without the airline christened, Nigeria Air, receiving the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to commence commercial operations.
