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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives to seek approval for the refund of N24 billion spent on the construction of airports by the Nasarawa and Kebbi states governments.
President Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter addressed to the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and read at plenary by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, yesterday.
According to the letter, the Kebbi and Nasarawa states governments were expected to get N15 billion and N9 billion refunds, respectively.
The letter read in part: “Establishment of a promissory note programme in favour of the Kebbi and Nasarawa states governments for the reimbursement of the respective costs of the construction of newly built airports in those states that have been taken over by the Federal Government.
“The House of Representatives is invited to note that at the Executive Council meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which was held on May 23, 2023, it was approved as follows:
“That a promissory note of N9,000,542,651,786.11 be issued to the Nasarawa State Government as a refund for the takeover of the newly constructed Nasarawa Airport.
“That a promissory note of N15,137,336,95.88 only be issued to Kebbi State Government as refund for the takeover of Birnin Kebbi International Airport.
“The House of Representatives may wish to note that by the provisions of item three of the second schedule of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, aviation, including airports, safety of aircraft, and carriage of passengers and goods by air, fall under the exclusive legislative list.
“The impact of this is that ownership, regulation, and control of airports in Nigeria are exclusive to the Federal Government.
“In light of the above, I urge the House of Representatives to consider and grant concurrent approval for the establishment of the promissory notes programme in favour of the Kebbi and Nasarawa states governments, respectively.”
