The Minister for Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has revealed why the Federal Government decided on relocating the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, from Abuja to Lagos.
Keyamo said Nigeria would be saving more than N450 million in airfares that would have been spent by officials on trips from Abuja to attend meetings in Lagos in one year.
“We are going ahead. The directive has been given,” the minister said.
Recall that a Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, some chieftains of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Northern Elders Forum, NEF, and other Northern groups, kicked against the relocation of FAAN headquarters and some offices of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, saying the move was an attempt to marginalize the North.
However, Keyamo has said the movement of the headquarters of the airport authority has become necessary in line with current economic and operational realities.
The Minister stated that top FAAN officials and aviation unions approached him that the head office of the authority be moved to Lagos for operational efficiency.
On whether President Bola Tinubu was aware of the decision or not, he said: “I take the decision; it’s a decision under the purview of a minister.”
He said only the headquarters of one of the seven aviation agencies in the country is being moved from Abuja to Lagos.
Keyamo revealed that when his predecessor, Hadi Sirika, moved the headquarters of all aviation agencies from Lagos to Abuja in 2020, no adequate provision was made for the principal officers like the directors and the departments under them.
