The House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled plans to recover over $7 billion in outstanding debts allegedly owed by some foreign airlines since 2023.

Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Rep. Abiodun James Faleke, disclosed this in Abuja during the flag-off of the review of the 2023–2025 revenue monitoring exercise of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

He expressed concern over the level of indebtedness by foreign and moribund airlines, as earlier alleged by FAAN Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku.

Mrs. Kuku confirmed that out of the total N25,863,523,044 debt owed by airline operators in 2023, N8,083,039,333, representing 31.25 per cent, had been recovered, leaving a balance of N17,780,483,712 unpaid. However, she did not provide an update on the level of recovery as of the end of the 2025 fiscal year.

According to documents presented to the committee, out of the approved revenue of N292,933,857,130 for 2023, actual revenue generated was N191,428,587,778, representing 65.35 per cent, indicating a variance of N101,505,269,352.

Of this amount, N165,074,532,284 was received between January and December, while outstanding revenue stood at N26,353,055,494.

She explained that the outstanding debts were owed by both foreign and domestic airlines, including moribund operators, adding that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was responsible for delays in remitting some revenues from foreign airlines.

Lawmakers, who expressed dissatisfaction with her presentation, raised concerns about the high level of foreign borrowing in the national budget and questioned the rationale behind the mounting debts.

They also faulted the accounting system adopted by the authority and the inconsistencies in the revenue performance figures presented.

Hon. Timehin Adelegbe noted that FAAN’s efficiency could not be guaranteed based on the presentation and urged the Managing Director to provide full disclosure of all relevant items not clearly captured in the documents.

Rep. Faleke insisted on detailed records of all debts from 2023 to 2025, including the names of debtor airlines, amounts owed, and timelines.

He also demanded comprehensive passenger and flight data for the same period, including the number of airlines operating in Nigeria and total passenger traffic, both local and international.

While ruling, Faleke directed the FAAN management team to reappear before the committee with accurate financial statements and relevant documents, including a detailed list of debtors and airline manifests from 2023 to 2025.

“We do not want the revenue of your agency to be shrouded in secrecy,” he said.

The documents further showed that in 2023, FAAN generated N191.4 billion out of the approved N292.9 billion revenue budget and collected N165.1 billion, reflecting performance rates of 65.35 per cent and 86.23 per cent, respectively.

+From the N191.4 billion generated, commitments were made for personnel, overhead, and capital costs in line with the approved budget, while N51.6 billion was deducted at source as remittance to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

In 2024, out of the approved revenue budget of N371.4 billion, the authority generated N387.8 billion and collected N344.4 billion, representing performance rates of 104.4 per cent and 88.87 per cent, respectively. N128.8 billion was deducted at source for remittance to the CRF.

For the 2025 fiscal year, N551.2 billion was approved as the revenue budget. As of December 31, 2025, the authority generated N483.1 billion and collected N428.8 billion, reflecting performance rates of 87.65 per cent and 88.76 per cent, respectively. N150.4 billion was deducted at source for remittance to the CRF.

Kuku also disclosed that in 2024, the authority secured presidential approval to remit 10 per cent of its revenue to the CRF for three years while retaining 90 per cent to support airport infrastructure development in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

She added that excess deductions made from the authority’s accounts in 2024 and 2025 should be refunded to enable FAAN recover much-needed funds earmarked for infrastructure upgrades.

According to her, the authority has, in the past year, undertaken extensive infrastructure upgrades across various airports, including runway resurfacing and rehabilitation, terminal remodelling, replacement of obsolete screening machines, escalators and elevators, and upgrades of cooling systems. (Nigerian Tribune)

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