Two staff unions at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), have asked the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to rescind the concession of toll gates and parks to private companies.

Nigeria’s aviation authorities, in a bid to upgrade infrastructure and efficiency, had decided to concession key airport terminals to private operators.

Felix Ohwoefe, chairman of NUATE, Rivers State chapter, during a press briefing on Thursday February 26, 2026, said the concession would result in massive sack of workers at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

This was as the unions gave FAAN a 72-hour ultimatum to implement their demand.

Ohwoefe claimed that NUATE and ATSSSAN were not aware of the concessions, adding that they will take drastic actions to protect their jobs if Airport authorities refuse to rescind its decision on the concession to private companies.

Ohwoefe further pointed to what he described as an anomaly in projected revenue from the concessions. He wondered why FAAN would contract the revenue points to private individuals for only N14 million, when it is generating over N28 million monthly.

“We are not against the concession of the Automated points, but due process must be followed. If government is concessioning the place, we are asking what will happen to our workers in the existing units.

“Secondly, if the concessionaires are taking over, they must pay higher than what the FAAN is generating presently. We are generating to the management over N28 million monthly, but we heard that the private company is required to pay only N14 million monthly, which is far below 50 percent of what we are generating presently, even when the tariff is increased. Which means there is a foul play.

“The unions are saying no to the concession until we come to terms of understanding ourselves. We are afraid of losing workers, we don’t want to lose any workers if due process is not followed in this hard economy. We are even demanding employment of more workers in FAAN,” Ohwoefe said.

The union leader also urged Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation, and President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the matter.

Ngozi Onyeanwuna-Nwosu, Head of Corporate Affairs, FAAN, when contacted, declined to comment on the issue. (BusinessDay)

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