- Safiu Kehinde
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has claimed that airports across Nigeria are largely funded by revenue generated from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
Keyamo stated this during an interview on Channels TV Sunday Politics programme.
The minister made the claim in reaction to controversies surrounding the N712.3 billion allocation for the renovation of the Lagos airport and how the expenses will be recovered.
He held that expenses will be made back in three years as the MMIA generates over N200 billion in a year.
“In three years, we will get that money back in Lagos. We make about N200 billion every year in Lagos alone. That is the money we are using in taking care of other airports across the country.
“Only Lagos, Abuja, and Kano are viable. All of these money we are now using it to take care of all the other ones, buy diesel, pay staff and others.” Keyamo said
While the aviation minister had earlier explained reason behind the N712 billion allocation, he further recounted the deplorable state of the MMIA Terminal One which is set to be demolished and rebuilt.
Coupled with the deplorable state of the terminal, Keyamo further disclosed plan to convert the Lagos airport to a hub as another reason for the renovation.
“You will see people selling Indomie. You will see all kinds of kiosks and workshops there. You will old tiles on the ground and collapsing ceilings You will see carousels that are not working because their parts are not in the market again.
“The place is totally decrepit, and this has been going on for so many years. Many governments have been thinking of making sure that they bring it up tomodern standard.
“Not only that, as it is today, you cannot land in Lagos and try to connect an international flight maybe to Ghana. Maybe you take Air Peace because Air Peace can connect from Lagos where you take another Air Peace to Ghana. That is what they call a hub.
“Lagos is not a hub. That was the plan in 1977 when it was designed and then 1979 when it was commissioned. You cannot process one passenger from one terminal to the other terminal. All of that has taunted the growth of aviation in Nigeria over the years.
“What we are trying to do in Lagos now is to make Lagos a very modern international airport and two, to make it a proper hub to begin to at least compete with other hubs in Africa.
“We have hubs in Cairo, Egypt. We have hubs in Casablanca, Addis Ababa, South Africa, and Angola here has a hub. With their airline, you can transit in Angola to South America, Brazil, or Portugal. But Nigeria has no hub.” He said.
Keyamo further held that the aviation industry tops the infrastructural development agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“Aviation stands top on the agenda of Mr. President. The first thing he did when we came-remember we had a backlog of $900 million owed foreign airline. Many of them threatened to stop flying to Nigeria unless their debts are paid. Mr. President cleared all of that within six months.” He said.
In further reaction to criticism over the N712.3 allocated for the renovation, the aviation minister claimed that the allocation is relatively small in comparison with other airport hubs across the world.
“You don’t need to do big research. Just pick your phone and google the cost of a new airport. Not even building a new airport, remodeling and refurbishment.
“Oliver Tambo in South Africa is $1.2 billion. Angola airport is $3.5 billion. Cambodia is about $1.5 billion. JFK is about $9 billion. They are doing expansion. Ours is less than $500 million.
“That we are getting less than $500 million is a steal. Our Bureau of Public Procurement don’t forget that it is not the ministry, and it is not me that sat down to do this.
“We have an agency of government who knows how government works. It is the Bureau of Public Procurement. That bureau has experts, engineers, quantity surveyors, everything. They look at your bill of purchase and begin to argue line for line with you. It is the bureau that approves money not ministry.” He said.