Senate Seeks Review Of Abuja, Kano Airports’ Concession

The Senate has asked the Federal Government to review the concessioning of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Senate also condemned the concessioning process of both facilities, insisting there were shaddy deals involved in the exercise.

The Senate decision came following a adoption of a motion titled “Urgent Need to Reverse the Concessioning of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja”, sponsored by Senator Suleiman Kawu (NNPP, Kano South).

In his lead debate, Senator Kawu told his colleagues that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on May 17, 2023 approved the concessioning of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano for 30 years, to Messrs Corporación America Airports Consortium.

He pointed out that the Federal Ministry of Aviation (and Aerospace) does not own, or run any airport in Nigeria and that by the dictates of the governing Act of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), ownership and management of all federal government airports were fully vested in the Authority.

The lawmaker also noted that the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) procedure document states with respect to the agency that wishes to concession a facility that, “The public entity should have enabling authority to transfer its responsibility – enabling legislative and policy framework or an Administrative Order to that effect.”

Part of the motion reads: “Reflects that from the combined import of the FAAN Act and the ICRC procedures manual, is an evident manifestation that the entire airports concession is based on an incurably faulty foundation. For, there is no doubt that it is the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, not the Ministry of Aviation, that has power ‘to transfer its responsibility’ to a would-be concessionaire. It is also FAAN, not the Ministry, which has the requisite legislative & policy framework’ for such;

“Convinced that if the claim that the FEC has approved the concessioning of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport has any substance, then the FEC has indeed been misguided in its decision, and that action cannot amount to anything than a nullity;

“Worried about the rational in borrowing and spending public money to upgrade the airport only to hand it over to foreign businesses for a period of 30 years in the name of a concession;

“Alarmed that Nigeria is receiving a concession fees or upfront of $1.5m while the total amount of money that the Kano airport is accruing to government is $97.4m;

“Disturbed that this concession is clearly dubious and raise questions on the process and what the actors stand to gain; Recalls that unions in the aviation industry embarked on a strike to question the integrity of the concession exercise, stressing that the concession of the airport away from FAAN would necessarily cause a cessation of the employment of all the staff involuntarily:

“Worried that the concession by the Buhari-led administration raises a fundamental question of injustice on why an elephant project with huge public investment would take place just at the end of the administration; and observes that the faulty gaps inherent in the concession would lead to array of lawsuits and thereby embarrassing the current administration.”

Contributing, the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), lamented that some of the government agencies and officials that did the concessioning, took advantage of of what he described as Buhari’s passiveness as a leader, to short-change Nigerians.

All the other Senators, who contributed to the debate, condemned the manner in which the the concession was hurriedly done and unanimously approved the prayers to condemn the action of the last administration as well as call for a review of the exercise.

While considering the prayers of the motion, amendment was introduced and Senators resolved to also include the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in the investigation and possible reversal of the deal.