Messy Ariport concessioning: Senate demands review of entire process, level playing field for stakeholders

***Senator Ndume flays Buhari, says minister took advantage of his passiveness

Thursday was not a favorable Senate session for former president Muhammadu Buhari as he came under heavy criticisms as senators’ tempers flared at plenary over recent shoddy concessioning of Aminu Kano International Airport and others in a hasty manner almost one week to the end of his tenure.

This was just as the Senate condemned in strong terms the concessioning of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport as it was not done In the interest of the public.

The upper legislative chamber urged the Federal Government if need be to immediately review the entire exercise and give a level playing ground to all stakeholders.

The motion titled, ‘Urgent Need to Reverse the Concessioning of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano was sponsored by Sen. Suleiman, A. Kawu Sumaila (Kano South) 

While presenting his motion Senator Sumaila indicated that the Federal Executive Council, on 17th May, 2023, approved the concessioning of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano for 30 years, to Messrs Corporation America Airports Consortium

He pointed out that the Federal Ministry of Aviation (and Aerospace) does not own, or run, any airport in Nigeria adding that by the dictates of the governing Act of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), ownership and management of all federal government airports are fully vested in the Authority.
He quoted the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) procedure document to state ‘With respect to the agency that wishes to concession a facility that, “The public entity should have enabling authority to transfer its responsibility – enabling legislative and policy framework or an Administrative Order to that effect; 
He said from the combined import of the FAAN Act and the ICRC procedures manual, it is an evident manifestation that the entire airports concession is based on an incurably faulty foundation. 

“For, there is no doubt that it is the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, not the Ministry of Aviation, that has power ‘to transfer its responsibility’ to a would be concessionaire. 

“It is also FAAN, not the Ministry, which has the requisite ‘legislative and policy framework’ for such.

“If the claim that the FEC has approved the concessioning of Mallam Aminu Kano 

International Airport has any substance, then the FEC has indeed been misguided in its decision, and that action cannot amount to anything than a nullity.”

Sumaila expressed concern about the rational in borrowing and spending public money to upgrade the airport only to hand it over to foreign businesses for a period of 30 years in the name of a concession

He raised more concern that Nigeria was receiving a concession fees of upfront of $1.5m while the total amount of money that the Kano airport is accruing to government is $97.4m

He said he was disturbed that the concession is clearly dubious ad he raised questions on the process and what the actors stand to gain.

According to him that unions in the aviation industry embarked on a strike to question the integrity of the concession 

exercise, stressing that the concession of the airport away from FAAN would necessarily cause a cessation of the employment of all the staff involuntarily; 

Explaining further he indicated the concession by the Buhari-led administration raised a fundamental question of injustice on why an elephant project with huge public investment would take place just at the end of the administration

He observed that the faulty gap inherent In the conceaslon would lead to array of law sults, thereby embarrassing the current adiminiatration

While making his contribution

Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP Kebbi) said the Federal Government did not do due diligence in the concession deal. 

“Kano Airport is the premier Airport, in fact it used to be the only Airport in the entire Northern part of the country and so the concession in such half hazard manner without following due process certainly is a dubious process. 

“Instead of asking the Federal Governmenr to withdraw the concession, I want us to do something like setting up an advocate committee by this senate to investigate the circumstances under which the Kano Airport was concessioned and if it is not done in line with the laid down procedure of the infrastructure concession commission, the concession should be revoked because that is waste of public funds.

He said the shoddy act was not only the Kano Airport, “I recall when the concessioning of the 4 Airport started in 2018, Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Portharcourt the the FAAN workers union decided to embark on indiscriminate buying and because of that the minister stopped the concessioning, I wonder why at the tail end of the administration just six days to the end of the tenure of Buhari administration, this concession was pushed to the Federal Executive Council.

“I want to assure you the FEC did not do due deligence in approving this concessioning and hence we should investigate the circumstances inter alia.”

Senator representing Borno South on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ali Ndume lamented that Some of the government agencies and officials that did the recent concessioning and privatization in the Country took advantage of Buhari’s passiveness as a leader to carry  exercise.

Ndume spoke while contributing to the motion

Ndume who said his contribution was just to guide the Senate on the issues that were coming up on the concessioning said there are so many of them.

“So many things have been done wrong in the previous administration and that was because the government was almost personalized and privatized and some people took advantage of the former President’s passiveness.”

He asked that his colleagues should not politicise the matter as it all started during the PDP days.

“What I am saying is, these issues are too many, it is not only Mallam Aminu Kano Airport (MAKIA) but all concessions done hurriedly without following due process should be thoroughly investigated, reversed and actions taken.”

He suggested a committee to be set up with experts involved so that they can look at all the hurriedly made concessions and privatization for them to be reversed because “some people are waiting for Government to waste $100m and they come to take that organization to pay back $1m.

“So I am suggesting that we should not only talk about the MAKIA but all concessions done at the tail end of the previous administration to be looked into by the committee.”

Sani Musa (Niger East)

Condemned the act saying “international best practice in concession was thrown into the gutters” while processing the concession.

He said the Minna International Airport was abandoned for 11 years as well as other airports in the country. Such concession is criminal.

He wants Senate to ask  FG to direct complete evaluation of the concession.

He added that the Aminu Kano and Nnamdi Azikiwe airports concession were not transparently done. 

Rufai Hanga (NNPP Kano Central) d3manded that concession reversed so that the airports can be brought back on stream.

In his comment, Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau said concession is the best practice all over the world.

He said major airports in Europe have been concessioned including the the Heathrow Airport in United Kingdom which was taken over by a Nigerian. 

He maintained that there should be an overall investigation of concessions done.