Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), a group of prominent Igbo intellectuals, traditional rulers and stakeholders, has totally rejected the transfer of the management of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, (AIIA) Enugu to a private company by the Federal Government.

ILT described the action of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration as “another grave act of injustice against Ndigbo in Nigeria and further escalation of the prolonged marginalisation of the South-East region in the affairs of the nation.”

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN) had last Thursday handed over the Enugu International Airport to the concessionaire, Aero Alliance Limited, following the completion of all the necessary documentation.

Under the 30-year Public-Private partnership arrangement, facilitated by the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mba, the company will undertake the financing, rehabilitation, expansion, operation and management of the airport.

However, in a strong worded statement on Monday, ILT totally rejected the transfer of the airport to the concessionaire, warning that the withdrawal of Federal Government funding would definitely compromise the standard of the airport, including safety infrastructure, operational efficiency and passenger experience.

The group recalled that when the Federal Government commenced the process for the concession of the airport, it sparked significant controversy and backlash, revolving around issues of transparency, inadequate consultation, labour rights, contract duration and the sustainability of private funding for such a critical national asset.

It regretted that while the issues surrounding the concession were still pending, the Federal Government went ahead to concession Enugu International Airport to a company without any visible record of managing an airport of such magnitude within Nigeria or overseas.

“The implication is that out of the six international airports in Nigeria, Enugu International Airport is the only one to be financed, operated and managed by a private company, while the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Aviation, continues to fund the remaining five.

“The Enugu Airport was established in the 1950s by the Government of Old Eastern Region as an aerodrome, before the Obasanjo military regime in the late 1970s upgraded it to a regular airport. The government of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua later upgraded it to international status in 2007 and after major refurbishment, it was eventually opened to international flights in 2013, and was renamed Akanu Ibiam International Airport by the Goodluck Jonathan government. It cost the Federal Government N14 billion to upgrade the airport under both the Yar’Adua and Jonathan governments.

“In October 2019, Tinubu’s predecessor, President Muhammmadu Buhari (now late), approved a N10 billion special intervention fund for a comprehensive upgrade and rehabilitation of Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu, focusing on rehabilitating the degraded runway, fixing the airfield lighting and installing proper perimeter fencing”, ILT noted in the statement signed Prof. Elochukwu Amucheazi, the President and Prof. Jerry Chukwuokolo, the Secretary.

According to them, this major upgrade, which gave the airport a facelift, was officially inaugurated in August 2020 with fanfare in the South East when Hadi Sirika was the Minister of Aviation.

It regretted that the Tinubu government has reversed all the gains by handing Enugu airport over to a private company, while the Federal Government will continue funding and managing the remaining five international airports in the country.

“As of today, there is currently no active private concessionaire operating any of the other five international airports in Nigeria, namely, Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, Malam Aminu Kanu International Airport Kano, Port Harcourt International Airport and Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo. Why should the case of Enugu International Airport, the only international airport in the South East be different?

Curiously, the same Tinubu government that handed over Enugu International Airport to a private company, earlier cancelled the concession bidding programme for the international terminal of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, and opted for a ₦712 billion structural rebuild, through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.

“Festus Keyamo claimed during the handover ceremony that there are bidders for the other five international airports. Why did he not wait for the bidding processes to be concluded, so that all the six international airports would be handed over to concessionaires the same time? Why the haste in handing over Enugu International Airport?

“When President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, he described his government as a continuation of Buhari government, meaning that he would continue the programmes and projects of his predecessor. Unfortunately, Tinubu changed his policy in the case of Enugu International Airport, by handing it over to a private company, rather than approve more intervention funds for the airport, like he did for the Lagos International Airport.

“This is another grave injustice to Ndigbo and further escalation of the marginalisation of the South-East in the affairs of the nation. We will not allow this injustice to Ndigbo by the Tinubu Government to stand”, they said, and vowed to use every lawful means possible to challenge the concession of Enugu International Airport.

ILT regretted that the Federal Government proceeded to hand over the Enugu Airport to the company in spite of the reservations expressed by aviation unions about the opaque nature of the concession programme, including possible ties between the concessionaire and state officials

The group maintained that the concession would retard the growth and development of the only international airport in the South East

“Based on our findings, none of the six international airports in Nigeria is profitable. What it means is that they are all relying on government funding to operate. If the federal government stops funding Enugu International Airport, even if for one day, the facilities will go down.

“If the airports are not profitable, where will the concessionaire get the money to maintain the airport for the next 30 years? So, the handover of Enugu Airport is injustice to the South East. The government should fund Enugu airport like other international airports in the country,” ILT stated. (Vanguard)

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