The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has defended the Federal Government’s decision to earmark N712.3 billion on the renovation work at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
The government has come under criticism for setting aside the funds for the renovation of Terminal One and expansion of Terminal 2 at the airport.
The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement on Sunday described the move as reckless and insensitive.
He questioned whether the renovation plan and its associated costs had been approved by the National Assembly.
Keyamo, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Sunday Politics, said Nigerians would be proud of the transformation at the airport.
He stressed that without the renovation, many foreign airlines would be forced to abandon Nigerian routes.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the airport terminal, built over four decades ago, has gone rusty.
“The roof of the airport is leaking; the place is decrepit and smelly. You see people selling Indomie and all kinds of kiosks erected there.
“The ceilings are failing, and the carousels are not working because their parts are not in the market anymore,” he said.
Keyamo argued that the airport upgrade would be funded “through the Renewed Hope Infrastructural Funding. It is not a budgetary kind of expenditure. It is from the special infrastructure fund”.
“This government promised Nigerians major infrastructural upgrades across Nigeria, from the savings we are having now from the subsidy removal and the floating of the naira,” he stated, adding that the project would last 22 months.
The minister said that without the rebuilding of the airport terminal, many foreign airlines would abandon the country’s route.
“Without this, some international airlines will threaten to stop flight to your country when you don’t have a good airport, a good runway, because it affects insurance because when the runways are not good, the terminals are good, the insurance will go up because they will say that place is not safe to fly to,” he said.
Keyamo stressed that upon completion, the terminal would rival continental aviation hubs in Ethiopia, South Africa and other countries.
