FG resolves 20-year Bi-Courtney airport dispute, approves aircraft

• Ends 2-decade MM2 standoff

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has announced the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) approval of a comprehensive settlement resolving a 20-year dispute with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited over Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MM2) in Lagos.

Briefing State House Correspondents after yesterday’s FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu, Keyamo detailed the “give and take” agreement with Bi-Courtney’s leader, Wale Babalakin. “Council today approved the terms of the agreement we reached with Babalakin to settle all the vexed issues surrounding that airport. Now, for the purpose of transparency, may I just mention a couple of the things that we agreed upon because this is going to be public knowledge and we intend to be very transparent about this,” he stated.

He traced the conflict’s roots to Bi-Courtney’s concession starting in 2003, extended to 35 years, amid claims over the adjacent MM1 domestic terminal. “One of the contentious issues there was that he claimed that the local airport, the other MM1, was part of the agreements. After all kinds of back and forth, the Supreme Court agreed with him. So he won at the Supreme Court; the court ordered that the Federal Government should pay him N132 billion plus interest. From 2009, N132 billion plus interest,” the minister explained.

He highlighted Bi-Courtney’s concessions, including waiving the N132 billion debt outright, returning MM1 to federal control and dropping exclusivity clauses blocking projects like Lekki Airport. “We wanted it to be there, outright. Nobody’s going to pay that. He wrote it off. I’m back to the Federal Government. We cannot give the entire operations of MM1 Aviation, local operations in Lagos. He agreed with us. The issue of exclusivity, we also told him that, look, it is not right for security reasons for you to have complete control over the domestic market in Lagos and he agreed,” Keyamo said.

In exchange, Keyamo revealed the restoration of the stalled hotel and conference centre opposite MM2. “We gave it back to him. Complete and run it on a shared basis with the Federal Government. So, it’s not even exclusive. We are still going to benefit from that Federal Government. So, he has 24 months to complete that conference centre and hotel. We told him we will not tolerate any delay again,” he emphasised.

The deal shifts regional flights to MM2 with expansion plans and activates revenue sharing. “Immediately after today, the Federal Government will now begin to earn its own share from the operations of MM2. At the end of the day, it was a very big day for everybody. It was back and forth, give and take, and give and take. So, he profited and we profited,” Keyamo noted, crediting brotherly ties. “In the spirit of brotherhood, because we are both members of the inner Bar, we both spoke on this.”

He also hailed FEC’s second approval establishing a Nigeria Aircraft Leasing Company, a private sector SPV with the government’s backing. “The second one is a very, very important one that will be a game-changer for the Nigerian industry. A major problem of private operators in Nigeria has been access to aircraft. Nigeria is about the only country in the whole of Africa whose aviation industry is wholly run by the private sector,” he said.

The initiative draws investors for bulk leasing, tackling old fleets and foreign dominance. “Investors are chasing us now with money. The moment we floated. My phones have not stopped buzzing. These investors know that the aircrafts will boost the markets. Most especially when you see that 95 percent of our traffic in Nigeria, they are being ferried by foreign airlines,” Keyamo explained. The government’s role includes repossession guarantees for equity. “Federal Government’s role is just to guarantee the leasers and financiers of repossession. The Federal Government will have equity in that company. Congratulations to the Nigerian aviation industry. This is a game changer that you will see in the next few months.”

Similarly, the council approved three major rail projects valued at $2.99 billion as part of efforts to boost infrastructure and economic growth.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this yesterday while briefing State House correspondents.

He said the projects include the Lagos Green Line Rail Project Phase 1A, Kano Metro Rail Project and Kaduna Light Rail Project.

According to him, the projects would be financed through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, with support from counterpart funding.

Oyedele noted that the rail developments were strategic investments aimed at improving transportation, enhancing productivity and supporting economic expansion across key cities.

He added that the initiative aligns with the administration’s broader development agenda focused on infrastructure and quality of life.