*Suspends Nigeria Air Programme, Airport Concession
*Directs Airlines to Remove Abandoned Aircraft from MMIA in 3 Months
The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo has given the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) October 1, 2023 to relocate all flight operations to the new international terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and vacate the old terminal for rehabilitation.
He also directed that the on-going process to have a national carrier should be suspended as well as the concession of the terminals of major airports in the country.
The Minister gave the order yesterday during facility tour of the nation’s busiest airport, when he had physical examination of the airport infrastructure, from the General Aviation Terminal to the airside, the runways, the international terminals, including cargo terminals.
Kenyamo who appreciated the state-of-the-art facilities at the new terminal, which is part of the terminals built with Chinese loans with counterpart funding from the federal government, regretted that the terminal was grossly underutilized and that the old terminal has become decrepit, smelly, outmoded and therefore, needed urgent rehabilitation.
“We should move and use the new terminal, that is all I have said. The new terminal that is underutilised, we spent a lot of money building it and we have to use it. The old terminal is a total eye-sore. Since I came into office, I have heard complaints upon complaints. The central air condition is not working, the carousels are not working, they broke down quite often and the approach into the airport is smelly, it is totally unwelcoming to people coming into Nigeria and that is the gateway to Nigeria.
“So, I have given a directive that we should completely shut it down and use the new terminal that can also take the traffic. Now what was the problem, and I have said it before and I will repeat it. The problem with the new terminal was that they did not take into consideration the big airplanes that will come in and anchor with the avio-bridges that will take passengers into arrival. The space is not enough, and I have said that why the space is not enough is because there are private hangars there that cannot allow the planes to come in and that is why we are not enjoying our new terminal. And the question I have asked is, why did somebody approve such a project? Why will somebody approve such a project without approving the total reconstruction of the place where the big body planes will anchor and disembark passengers. So, as a stop gap measure, we have said, just like it is done in so many countries, we are going to get buses, do some emergency procurement so that we can, in an orderly manner, board passengers and disembark passengers and also bring them to arrival and through departure to the aircraft. That is what we want to do for now as a temporary measure,” he said.
The Minister further explained that the reason why the old terminal should be vacated is to create opportunity for the complete rehabilitation of the facility, which has served Nigeria since 1979 when it was inaugurated for international service.
“Why did I say we should shut down the old terminal for now? Because you cannot even carry out major repair work in it while it is in use and that is what has been the problem over the years because you cannot shut it down for total overhaul, they do things that are so tokenistic. Today this and that, so because they know that they are using it on a daily basis, so it is difficult to carry out comprehensive overhaul. Even for those who are fighting over concession now, how can they even carry out repairs even if they win the concession? So please, let us get it clear, we have not ordered any closure of anywhere, we just want to use the new terminal and find a new way by which we can board passengers and of course disembark passengers for processing. That is what we are doing,” Keyamo said.
The Minister also ordered that airlines that parked their unserviceable aircraft at the General Aviation Terminal of the Lagos airport to remove them with three months deadline.
“We are here where they call the grave yard. This is where they keep unserviceable planes and they have been here for so many years, as I was told. I also understand that several of them went to court and the case ended one way or the other. So, the first directive I am giving now is that I have told the Managing Director of FAAN that all of these aircraft here, that are totally unserviceable cannot be parked here perpetually on the facility of the federal government. We want to expand the apron here and so they will have three months to remove them. For all those who have unserviceable aircraft here, we are giving them three months to come and take away their aircraft, after which we shall be at liberty to do away with the ones not possessed. They should come and remove all their aircraft here or we will dispose of them. This is our facility and they are hampering development here,” the Minister said.
The Minister assured that before the deadline, operations at the old international terminal would have moved to the one, saying that he has a private sector mindset and would not allow his work to be burdened with government bureaucracy.
“Before the first of October, the counters where airlines check-in passengers should move to the new terminal. What is difficult about that? We have 60 check-in points in the new terminal, most of them are not in use. And then we are struggling with an old building that is smelly and leaky and a complete disgrace to our country. So that is why I said they should use the new facility. If the only problem, like I said, is boarding of passengers, then let us find a way out of it.
I am coming with a private sector mentality. I want to get things done with less bureaucracy,” he said.
On the suspension of Nigeria Air project and the concession of airport facilities, the Minister explained that he was not terminating the programme but suspending it in order to have proper reappraisal of the programme.
“Nigeria Air and Concession are not continuing, nothing is continuing. I am totally responsible to the feelings of Nigerians. We have not canceled anything, we have only suspended somethings that people complained about. We must be very, very responsible to the feeling of Nigerians. Even if something is good, but it is not transparent, because Nigerian people must know the processes by which you give out their common wealth. Nobody owns all of these, not myself, not the President, not anybody; it is the common wealth of Nigerians. And so Nigerians must be aware of how you give out their common wealth to individuals in the name of concessioning. Tell the National Assembly who are oversighting us and representing the Nigerian people, let them know that this process was transparent and we got the best deal for Nigerians. And that is why I have directed that all of those concessions should be suspended until I brief Mr President.
“It is to make sure that the processes followed were transparent. And that is why some people were questioning my being appointed as Aviation Minister. 90 percent of why I am here is about laws and regulations and I will interpret them better for Nigerians to understand. And being here, I am trapped between that diametrically opposed absolutes and interest,” Keyamo said.
He also emphasized that he would give the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) full autonomy in safety matters, as guaranteed by the new Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations.
“The new NCAA act that was passed in 2022, it guarantees that there should be very less political interference in safety matters. So, don’t expect me to interfere in safety, that is complete NCAA. And they are totally responsible and answerable to ICAO. So I am not going to interfere in safety. One of my cardinal programmes will just be to ensure that NCAA enforce their rules and regulations. That is my duty. I will not interfere in matters of regulation,” he said.
The Minister also threatened that if those assigned duties did not carry out such duties efficiently as expected, he would relief them of their jobs.
When asked how he would ensure that his directives to improve the system would be carried out as he wanted, he said, “This is a simple matter. I either get sacked by Mr President or somebody who is responsible will get sacked. So, it is a matter of who dies first. Mr President will sack me, and so the person that is not making my work easy will be fired. It is as simple as that. I am here at the pleasure of Mr president and I owe my total loyalty to the Nigeria people and Mr. President. And you know how I became Minister, Mr president himself decided at the last minute to make me Minister. And so he expects a lot from me and the Nigerian people expect a lot from me. So, I want to disappoint many nay sayers. They want to see me in full flight, they have not seen me before,” he added.
