News
Suspend Airports Concession Plan, Reps Tell FG
The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Government to suspend the plan to concession airports until all issues have been addressed.
This was disclosed by the Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, on Monday. He said this during a meeting between the Ministry of Aviation and the Committee.
The Committee berated Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, for failing to appear before it in Abuja on Monday. They said it had been receiving petitions against the move.
The House Committee argued that the concession needs to be paused. According to them, this is due to union issues in the Aviation sector. These issues which would not be in Nigeria’s interest, as the Labour unions also raised concerns over the concession plans.
Four international airports are billed for concession to private operators. They are the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt airports.
Nnolim Nnaji, said, “Among the concerns were the lack of transparency in the exercise, labour issues. There is also the Chinese loans, the legal issues that may arise from the existing concessions. Also is the lack of proper valuation of the present status of the affected airports, among others.
“Based on the outcome of the meeting with the labour unions, the committee invited the Minister of Aviation and the heads of agencies under him to discuss the issue of the airports’ concession. Several dates were fixed for the meeting but for one reason or the other, they failed to attend.
“In view of this, the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation hereby requests that the concession of the four airports should be put on hold pending the resolution of the contentious issues raised by the unions and other stakeholders to avoid industrial actions that may further cripple the already distressed industry.”
It was reported in June that the Federal Government commenced the concession process for four new International Airport Terminals selected across the country. They are airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano.
