Six state governments, including Ekiti, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Yobe, Nasarawa, and Bayelsa, spent around N160 billion on airport projects that opposition politicians and aviation professionals deemed unviable.
Stakeholders argue that the massive public expenditures spent on the facilities were a waste of money. They lambasted the state governors and urged Nigerians to hold them accountable for the waste.
However, several industry participants recommended that the facilities be turned into skill development centers for the benefit of citizens.
Some urged relevant authorities to investigate the funds spent on unviable projects.
The PUNCH discovered that the six states spent more than N160 billion on their different airport developments, yet the facilities have not attracted a significant number of planes for charter or commercial uses.
Apart from the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, and the Port Harcourt International Airport in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which account for approximately 80% of FAAN’s revenues, other airports are a financial burden.
Despite the issues faced by the majority of the country’s aerodromes, additional state governments have continued to invest precious resources in the building of new airports, most of which are designated as “cargo airports.”
In the previous decade, no less than ten state administrations have proposed or started such initiatives.
Some of the states are Osun, Ebonyi, Ogun, Benue, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Abia, Ekiti, and Bayelsa. Unfortunately, the majority of these initiatives were never completed, and some were abandoned by their successors in power.
They include Asaba Airport, Ebonyi Airport, Bayelsa Airport, Ogun Cargo Airport, MKO Abiola International Airport in Osun (which is still under construction), Ekiti Cargo Airport, Anambra Cargo Airport, Abia Airport, Wachakal Airport in Damaturu, and Dutse International Airport in Jigawa.
Other unfinished airports are Lafia in Nasarawa, Kebbi, Auchi in Edo, Zamfara, and Gombe.
