Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has said that there is no turning back on the Federal Government’s decision to move the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) headquarters from Abuja to Lagos, amid the controversy surrounding the plan.
The minister said this on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
Recalls that chieftains of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Northern Elders Forum, NEF, and other northern groupings had protested against the actions, along with Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South.
They contend that an effort was made to marginalise the north with the move of the FAAN headquarters and a few CBN units to Lagos.
But in response to the dispute, Keyamo said, “We are going ahead. The directive has been given.”
According to Keyamo, the problem is made worse by the fact that FAAN has not yet gone digital. As a result, they have to pay half a billion naira for a single aircraft ticket between Lagos and Abuja every year.
“You see them flying every day to and fro Abuja to get one file signed. They fly every day, back and forth. In one year, they spent close to half a billion naira on flight tickets. N450 million on flight tickets alone,” he stated.
cc: Daily Post Ng
