Lawmaker urges Nigerian govt to suspend airports concession plan

The Federal Government of Nigeria has been advised to suspend its proposed plan to concession airports in the country.

The advice was given on Monday by the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji who said that the planned concession should be suspended until all issues have been addressed.

Nnaji who also berated Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, for failing to appear before it in Abuja on Monday, said it had been receiving petitions against the move to concession four international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.

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He said, “Among the concerns were the lack of transparency in the exercise, labour issues, the Chinese loans, the legal issues that may arise from the existing concessions and 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,” Nnaji concluded.

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