When reports emerged a few years ago about Jigawa State’s plans to build an airport, many were left confused, especially in the midst of the poverty of the people of the state.
The utter disbelief, which greeted the news, stemmed from the fact that such a project was needless, given Jigawa’s proximity to Kano, which already had an airport.
But 11 years after the Dutse International Airport was commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan, after being built by former Governor Sule Lamido, critics’ concerns now appear justified as checks reveal that the airport is not thriving.
This is despite the fact that The New World, under the Lamido administration, was reported to have spent $55.24 million, (N4 billion, going by prevailing exchange rate at the time), in building the airport.
However, Jigawa is not alone in what has now become an unexciting contest among state governors to build airports, thereby drawing jeers from observers.
In June 20, 2024, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State flagged-off construction works for Gusau International Airport, declaring that the project, managed by Triacta Nigeria Limited, with JBI Tech Consult, will promote social interaction, business and tourism in the state.
On December 17, 2024, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State followed suit by flagging-off the construction of the proposed Abia Airport, describing it as a landmark project that will boost economic activities and place the state as a vital hub in the West African sub-region. This is despite opposition by the host community.
Scathing criticisms
Expectedly, both pro-jects received scathing criticisms from Nigerians who were taken aback by the development.
For instance, an X user, identified as Kay001, faulted the move, stating: “This is just a waste of money, where citizens of that state are wallowing in abject poverty. The governor should first see to their welfare and not the white elephant project. There are four airports in that axis, with close proximity to Kano international airport, Katsina, Sokoto and Jigawa.”
Also expressing disappointment, another X user, with the name Mazi Aristotle, remarked: “Building an airport does not solve the problem of insecurity. Businessmen flying to China do not translate to an airport being a viable venture. A modern, local transportation system will add more to the development of Abia than the airport.”
It did not end there.
Two years after former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State commissioned the Ekiti State Agro-allied International Cargo Airport, Governor Abiodun Oyebanji disclosed that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, had granted approval for the airport to commence non-scheduled flight operations from December 15, 2024.
The announcement, which took place on December 12, 2024, also provoked many, eliciting questions about why Ekiti would spend N16 billion on a project likely to join the endless lists of ghost airports across the country.
A netizen, who identifies as Adetola Adedeji on X, had stated: “Nigerian governors will abandon the most important and basic things. They will go after white elephant projects just to make money. You cannot point to one standard public secondary school and hospital in Ekiti State but somehow, having an airport is more important.”
Similarly, Mr James asserted on X: “There are many towns and villages in Ekiti State without good and accessible roads. Let this governor concentrate on providing basic infrastructure for the people of Ekiti. Cargo airport, without accessible roads to farms, will be a white elephant project.”
The outrage increased as Ogun State government boasted that its uncompleted Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport has the longest runway in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
At the construction site, along Iperu-Ilishan Road, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr Ade Akinsanya, boasted before journalists that “the runway is the longest in Nigeria right now.
‘’The main runway, which is 3.4 kilometres, added with the safety zone, an additional 600, makes a total of four kilometres.”
While expressing disbelief at Akinsanya’s boast, an X user by the name, Pragmatic007, countered, saying: “Longest runway is great. But wait, how will a government that is finding it difficult to mend potholes in Ogun State manage the longest runway? Abeg, the small portion of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway at the toll gate you mended just some months ago has collapsed ooo.”
How it all started
Since the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano State was built in 1936 as Britain prepared for a possible war with Germany, airports have become a visible feature of the Nigerian state, with many constructed by governors.
Some 42 years ago, precisely 1983, the first civilian governor of the old Imo State, Sam Mbakwe, through the contributions of indigenes in the state and beyond, started building the first state-owned airport.
According to Wikipedia, the project enjoyed support from successive federal military governments, especially under Navy Captain James Aneke, who saw to its completion and ensured it commenced operations on July 15, 1994, when late General Sani Abacha was Head of State.
Currently, Nigeria, according to the NCAA, has about 31 airports, with many under the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.
Traffic
Findings by Vanguard revealed that in recent years, no fewer than seven states have spent at least N181 billion on airports, which failed to meet the yearly passenger and cargo traffic requirement, causing stakeholders to tremble.
They include Ebonyi State International Airport (N36 billion); Akwa Ibom Airport in Uyo (N25 billion); Bayelsa International Airport (N70 billion); Dutse International Airport in Jigawa (N4 billion); Anambra Cargo Airport in Umuleri (N6 billion); Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Kebbi (N14 billion); Ekiti Cargo Airport (N16 billion); and Nasarawa Airport (N10 billion).
For instance, data obtained from the NCAA showed that Dutse International Airport, between January and July 2022, recorded just 1,448 passengers in domestic throughput figures, which rose to 3,537 during the same period in 2023.
Note that the revenue from this abysmal passengers’ traffic is not enough to carry out routine maintenance of the airport.
Meanwhile, Vanguard also learned that some of the uncompleted airports, including Ogun Agro Cargo Airport (N40 billion); MKO Abiola International Airport in Osun (N69 billion); Abia Airport (undisclosed) and Gusau International Airport (undisclosed), would drain no less than N109 billion of taxpayers’ money.
Recurring theme
Before now, the proliferation of airports across Nigeria had become a recurring theme, dividing opinion among analysts.
Whereas many see these airports as a formal scheme used by governors to siphon public funds, others argued that they were excellent economic gateways for states if governors mustered the political will to make them work.
For those who belong to the first school of thought, their sentiment arises from the fact that, despite knowing those airports would likely become unprofitable ventures, governors embark on them to satisfy their egos and for political considerations.
Yet, a former Managing Director of FAAN and ex-Manager of Gatwick Airport in London, Mr George Uriesi, who belongs to the latter school of thought, once said he had learned not to disparage the construction of airports by governors, insisting that if there was honest desire to make them work, they were a great economic gateway.
“If not right away, then gradually, as long as they know what to do with them, they will eventually come in handy. Uyo is a perfect example. The oyinbo textbook prescription says it would ‘cannibalize’ Calabar’s traffic and create two less viable airports, 10 minutes flying time apart.
‘’But alas, yes it did affect Calabar’s traffic initially, but Calabar recovered and resumed its growth side by side with Uyo, in the immediate aftermath of the Duke years (due to Governor Duke’s investments and positioning of Calabar then as the local go-to tourist destination),” Uriesi, who is now the chief operating officer of Ibom Air, argued.
But with the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, admitting that of the 22 federal government-owned airports under FAAN management, just three are viable, observers are demanding an end to airport construction by governors.
Their position aligns with a former Managing Director of FAAN, Captain Rabiu Yasuda, who, not quite long ago, lamented that most of the airports constructed by state governments are not commercially viable.
Yadudu had averred that the unending construction of airports by governors was confusing, saying NCAA, FAAN and the Ministry of Aviation ought to jointly come together to tackle the issue.
“An airport that needs N300 million a month (for maintenance) with just 1,000 passengers a month, there is no magic that can make them sustainable and FAAN doesn’t have the money.
“I think in the national interest, let us come up with a plan; Federal Government support, intervention and others to make sure that if you build it, if it is not workable now, one day, it will be sustainable because gradually, it will happen.
“This is a very complex situation. It is not a straight forward situation because to us at FAAN, the easiest option is to tell them not to build more state-owned airports, but whatever we do at FAAN, we look at the short and the long terms,” Yadudu stated.
Experts speak
In spite of these calls, Secretary-General of Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative, ASRTI, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, like Uriesi, insisted that airports built with public funds, whether federal, state or local government, is a social responsibility that will deepen accessibility and enable economic development.
Ohunayo, however, expressed dismay that governors are losing sight of the economic potential of an airport, saying they were more concerned about runway length.
“I am a strong believer that airports built with public funds, whether federal, state or local government, is a social responsibility to open up the state, country or local government for visitors, tourism, accessibility and most importantly, to develop the economy of that state, local government or country. ‘’In doing that, the idea is to encourage people see reasons they should visit, why they should invest,” Ohunayo told Vanguard.
While urging Nigerians not to feel discouraged about governors building airports, he asserted that there is need for a better strategy.
Length of runways
“My problem with almost all of them is that of late, all they are selling to us is the length of the runway. What does that have to do with social responsibility? Obviously, they are dreaming too big. They are moving too fast. They are wearing bigger shoes,” he claimed.
Ohunayo said he would have expected them to keep the large expanse of land used in building lengthy runways for airport development.
Start small
“Start small. Build a runway that can take smaller aircraft. Use that to begin to develop the airport. And as airlines begin to operate in, they will begin to look at opportunities within the airport vicinity or within the town and they can now begin to expand the airport, based on the land they have kept for it. ‘’With that, they can now expand the runway to how many kilometres they want to expand as the business grows. They can also expand the terminal building as passengers begin to increase.
“But unfortunately, they (governors) all run for gigantic projects that they cannot maintain right from day one. Now, you see the Federal Government giving states money, billions of naira, to support airport projects that are eventually returned back to the Federal Government to fund and manage. That is very wrong,” the aviation analyst explained.
Misplaced priorities
For the former Commandant of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu, retd, NCAA should be blamed for licensing these airports, describing their construction as misplaced priority.
“Take a look at Ibadan, Akure and Ilorin airports. What is the passenger traffic in Ibadan? What is the passenger traffic in Ilorin? Yet, Osun wants to build an airport,” Ojikutu lamented.
The analyst, who questioned the idea behind building airports, asked state governors to identify four viable airports.
“In the past years, which airports have any state built that is viable? They go behind and tell the Federal Government they want to build an agro-cargo airport. What is the passenger traffic in this country in the last 20 years? The same thing with cargo. The cargo we have in all our airports today, how many? It is less than 300,000 tonnes,” he said in frustration.
Scrutiny
According to him, governors setting up agro-cargo airports also need to sit down and come up with a viability plan, subject to scrutiny by the regulator, NCAA.
“That is why I blame the NCAA, which should be asking for their business plans. What are they looking for? If it is a cargo airport, what cargo will be carried from the airport and to where? That is very important. The NCAA must check their economic health every year. They must be able to tell if the state airport that has been licensed is making profit.
“The NCAA will find out how many cargo they carried this year based on the approval they gave you to be charging on cargo. That way, they will be able to know how much money you have made and whether the state has money to sustain that airport.
‘’If you have money to sustain the airport, you do not have a problem. But if you set up an airport and you do not have money to sustain it, they have a right to cancel this application,” he said.
Concession
While calling for the concessioning of many of the state-owned airports, Ojikutu claimed it is standard practice globally.
“Put it (airport) into concession, privatisation, or commercialisation, like they do in most countries. It is not government’s responsibility to provide a resting place for passengers at the airport. The only thing government is supposed to be responsible for is just access into the airport, the security, access control, screening and baggage check,” he insisted.
Conditions
However, Ohunayo countered Ojikutu, saying it is not the duty of the NCAA to evaluate a model that ensures profitability.
“If it is on viability, I can tell you that almost all the airports and airlines will not even be approved. There are certain conditions that are listed, most important is safety, compliance to government laws, security and location, among others. Once these things are in place, an airport gets approval,” he said.
Way forward
Distressed by the whole scenario, the Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konzult and former spokesman of the defunct Nigeria Airways, Mr Chris Aligbe, on his part, described state governments as recalcitrant, saying even though they knew that these airports are not profitable, they served as tool for corruption and politics.
Aligbe, who used the Ebonyi State International Airport as an example, said despite consuming huge funds, no aircraft could land there until a new governor repaired its runway.
“If you check the cost of building these airports, you will know that what they produce does not give confidence that what was spent would be recouped. I take Ebonyi Airport, which was constructed with billions as an example.
‘’No aircraft could land in that airport until the present government spends N11 billion to re-construct the runway. It is sad that it was built by a governor who is an engineer,” Aligbe told Vanguard.
He stated that with Akwa Ibom as a case study, states can manage their airports by turning them into proper investment.
Firm policy
“Look at Asaba. They have concessioned the airport. What the Federal Government should do is have a firm policy that no airport should be taken over by FAAN if it is constructed by a state government. “There must be a new policy that a state government must continue to provide funding for an airport if they are going to hand it over to FAAN to manage.
On the part of FAAN, it should be restructured to be an airport management company,” Aligbe implored.
It should be noted that governors building airports do not even bother to look at how the facilities can regenerate themselves in terms of making money.
When the airport in Akwa Ibom was built, it came with an MRO centre ( Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul), to serve the entire West and Central Africa in terms of aircraft maintenance and repairs but that part of the airport had been abandoned over time.
Recall that the governor of the state at the time was invited to attend an MRO conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was to have met with investors from different parts of the world to take over the facility and make it viable.
However, the governor failed to turn up for the conference organised by popular, London-based Nigerian aviation expert and publisher, Nick Fadugba.
Though the investors, who flew in from Europe, America and Asia, were on hand to meet the governor, he never showed up for the networking with the investors.
The MRO at Akwa Ibom airport would have served as a hub for aircraft maintenance in West and Central Africa but because the governor was not concerned about the viability of the facility and by extension, the airport, he paid no serious attention to the conference.
According to experts, everything that has to do with aircraft maintenance is denominated in dollars. Consequently, the foreign exchange spent by Nigerian airlines and others in West and Central Africa to maintain their aircraft in Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Europe and America could have been saved to help resolve Nigeria’s forex crisis.
Fadugba, who convened the conference, left Addis Ababa a sad man. This is the story of governors building airports in Nigeria. (Vanguard)
