Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has advised the Federal Government to invest in the upgrading and maintenance of the country’s airport facilities.

She gave the advice on Wednesday at the Aircraft Acquisition and Investment Summit held in Lagos.

According to her, for a country such as Nigeria seeking to move up the global value chain, upgrading and maintaining its existing airport infrastructure “is not optional but a prerequisite.”

“Invest in the aviation eco-system to match and compete with the global aviation sector.

“This means acquisition of new aircraft and investment in airport infrastructure, which should be complemented by a strong maintenance culture”, she said.

She advised the Federal Government to call for private partnerships.

“The good news is that the burden need not be borne by government alone. This calls for public-government partnerships. Private financing needs to be mobilised for modernisation of airport infrastructure.”

She also called for a review of rising fuel, taxes, and airport charges, which, according to her, could lead to higher operating costs for airlines.

“The full costs need to be reexamined – fuel costs, airport taxes, levies and charges”, she said, adding that an enabling business environment needs to be created to boost investors’ confidence.

“The model is straightforward – government provides the enabling framework, the regulatory certainty, and the long-term concession structures that give the private sector the confidence to commit.

“The private sector brings capital, operational expertise, and the discipline of commercial incentives.

“Once these structures are set, there is no reason it will not bring commercial growth as experienced in other parts of the world.”

She also advised the government to maintain a competitive and fair tax regime, advance market liberalisation by opening roads to other nations in a reciprocal manner, and work with other regional governments to remove bilateral restrictions that tend to limit where African airlines can fly.

“Most importantly, government must see the aviation sector as a strategic economic enabler rather than a revenue source that needs to be extracted”, she added.

According to her, although Nigeria’s safety records have improved in the last 20 years, she called for improvement, adding that existing airlines need to upgrade and increase their air fleets.

“The Nigerian air transportation has grown in recent years with the acquisition of private airlines, along with new airports and related infrastructure.

“The safety records have also improved in the last 20 years, but there is still a far distance to cover. Existing airlines need to upgrade and increase their existing air fleets”, she said, adding that the aviation sector can contribute more to the economy if the structural constraints are removed.

Nigeria’s aviation sector, which is a major economic driver contributing approximately $1.7bn–$2.5bn to GDP, with over 31 airports and 13 scheduled domestic airlines, has, over the years, been plagued with challenges such as high operating costs, infrastructure gaps, and high jet fuel prices.

The cost of aviation fuel has soared by 184 per cent in the last two months, occasioned by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Aviation fuel, which was sold at N900 per litre in January, increased to N1,121 per litre as of 26 February 2026 and now sells for N2,557 per litre.

Aviation fuel is the highest consuming commodity of airlines’ finances, taking about 40 per cent of airlines’ resources. This is closely followed by aircraft maintenance. (Channels)

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