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• Keyamo assures no job losses, insists unions will not dictate govt policies
• Council approves engineering infrastructure for Maitama 2 District, judges’ homes
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By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday gave the green light for the concession of Port Harcourt International Airport to private sector investors to enhance management efficiency and service quality.
Speaking at the State House, Abuja, after the meeting, Aviation and Aerospace Minister Festus Keyamo reassured that no jobs would be lost in the process, affirming the government’s commitment to safeguarding workers’ rights amid reforms aimed at making the aviation sector more viable.
He emphasised, “We have two major airports now that we have approvals in terms of the business case to begin to finalise with private investors. One of them is the Port Harcourt International Airport.
“I’ve made the point before that we are running our airports at a loss. All the money from Lagos, Abuja and Kano we pour it at some other airports that are running at a loss.
“This is a message to the unions, we will engage them, nobody will lose his job. So, I’m making this very clear because there have been all kinds of misinformation to the union members. I am pro-union, pro-workers and I know the kind of pressure they have been putting on me including people within the system instigating them against these concessions. They will not dictate policies of government, I’m ready to engage them, talk with them in terms of these concessions but they will not dictate policies of government to us. We will concession the airports especially as they are running at a loss, we cannot continue to waste government money. They will not lose their jobs, that’s the message to the unions, I repeat no worker will lose his job as a result of concessions. Once they are comfortable with that then I think they shall go along with us in that respect.”
Keyamo explained the government’s strategy to make airports financially sustainable, noting many currently run at a loss subsidised by revenues from Lagos, Abuja, and Kano airports.
He added, “Before we came in, Port Harcourt was a no-go area — no investor was interested. But today, because of the activities of this government, it has become the beautiful bride. Over six investors competed to manage the airport.”
Other aviation-related approvals from FEC include contracts for maintenance and support for airport management systems across Nigeria’s five international airports—Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu—plus procurement and installation of advanced power systems and navigational aids.
The Council also approved purchasing 15 airport rescue and firefighting vehicles meeting ICAO standards and construction of a permanent Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) headquarters in Abuja.
Keyamo highlighted the decision to exclude all Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) residential properties near airports from private sale to maintain operational safety.
“Now this is one of the major ones I want to mention now that we sought approval of FEC to exclude properties owned by the Federal Airport Authority in and around the airports in the country from disposal to private individuals. By now you know, there is one committee called presidential implementation committee or so on government properties set up long ago by Obasanjo’s government, where they sought to sell government properties to private individuals, maybe some of them on occupier basis, but at that time, I think it was through presidential memo that they excluded certain properties at that time, having to do with safety and security.
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“Now it has been our problem at the airport, where people come and say that, because they were owner occupiers, they will buy properties within the airport or around the airport, meant for, for example, very technical staff, maybe firefighting staff, AppSec, navigational people, who we need at very short notice, because the airports are environments where you have emergence, you can have emergency anytime. So you need all of those people to stay within government quarters inside the airports because of emergencies. But we have had a serious problem where many of them that they had bought these properties, and now you have private individuals living within the airport, living within security and safety areas. But today, graciously, Mr. President said we should exclude all of those properties from disposal to private individuals.
“I’m just making this public announcement to those who purportedly have bought properties, we will not give those properties to them. We will not because we told them from beginning that these properties were excluded originally, but they said they didn’t see any memo to that effect. Now there’s a memo to that effect. We will not concede any of such properties within the airport or around the airport to any private individual.”
Furthermore, the biometric verification system concession was approved to integrate passengers’ National Identification Numbers (NIN) into boarding to boost aviation security and prevent fake identities.
“We are bringing these reforms to make our airports safer, more efficient, and commercially sustainable. We are bringing them to global standards,” said Keyamo.
Additionally, the Council sanctioned the long-awaited engineering infrastructure contract for Maitama 2 District in Abuja’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Minister of FCT Nyesom Wike announced the Council’s approval of the engineering infrastructure contract for Maitama 2 District, a project covering about 786 hectares that had stalled for nearly five years until the current administration revived it.
Wike stated, “This contract was awarded about five years ago but did not take off. When Mr. President came, the Federal Executive Council terminated that contract. Today, FEC has approved a fresh contract for the engineering infrastructure of Maitama 2.”
He described Maitama 2 as a new residential and commercial district aligned with President Tinubu’s vision to expand development across the FCT, adding, “Many people had been allocated land in Maitama 2 before this administration, but there was no provision of infrastructure. This is a very ambitious project, and we are determined to give it all the attention it deserves to open up that district.”
Wike also revealed FEC’s ratification of contracts to build official residences for heads of key courts, reflecting commitment to enhancing the judiciary’s welfare.
He mentioned water supply projects approved for satellite towns like Karu, Karshi, Orozo, and Bwari, following President Tinubu’s inauguration of the Greater Abuja Water Supply Project, expected to extend to surrounding communities by May next year.
He further confirmed emergency rehabilitation of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, completed for the ECOWAS Parliament inauguration earlier this year.
Wike assured continued infrastructural growth under the Renewed Hope Agenda, affirming Abuja’s status as a model of modern urban governance and planning.
