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.”
