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Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has rejected an N532bn for the construction of the Abuja second runway.
Keyamo speaking during an appearance before a joint committee on aviation on Wednesday, said the contractors of the Abuja second runway have proposed a variation of N532bn up from N90bn appropriated during the 9th Assembly over the next two years, which he said President Bola Tinubu described as an avenue for potential fraud.
“I will not accept such unreasonable variations, the option I have now is to invite fresh bids for the second runway in Abuja. We need this project completed by the end of this administration, and we cannot proceed under such unjustified conditions,” he said.
He, however, highlighted delays that have plagued the project for years, citing inadequate funding and unresolved community issues as major setbacks.
“Abuja shouldn’t have only one runway. This is one of the larger issues of not executing such projects on time.”
He recalled that N45bn was initially allocated for the project during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, while N90bn was appropriated during the 9th Assembly.
However, only N30bn was released by the previous government, leading to stalled progress. “As we speak, contractors have left the site”.
The minister also addressed the issue of cost variations introduced by contractors, which have caused further delays.
Meanwhile, a member of the Senate Committee on Aviation queried Keyamo over the exclusion of the N36bn owed to former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways in the Ministry’s 2025 budget.
In response, Keyamo clarified that the responsibility for the payment has been shifted to the Ministry of Finance, as the funds are not allocated for capital projects.
“The affected pensioners will receive their dues directly from the Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development. I met with the leaders of the joint unions in November last year, and they agreed to the arrangement in place”.
Regarding establishing Aerospace Universities across the six geopolitical zones, the Minister disagreed with committee members who suggested halting the initiative due to the presence of the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Presenting the Ministry’s 2025 budget proposal, the Aviation Minister disclosed a total allocation of N71.13bn, out of which N69.2bn is earmarked for capital projects, N1.147 bn for personnel costs, and N745.7m for overhead expenditure.
