The House of Representatives has resolved to set up an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the concession of airports in the country and report back to it for further legislative action.
This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Hon Kama Nkemkanma on the “need to investigate the concession of Airports in Nigeria,” at plenary.
Hon Nkemkanma, in his motion, informed the House that most of the viable airports in our country were commissioned to foreign firms through Federal Executive Council (FEC) resolutions that allegedly did not follow due process.
According to him, the outcome of the concession exercise is allegedly the enrichment of a few Nigerians and their foreign cohorts to the detriment of the country.
“Our major airports in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano have remained consistent subjects of controversies due to entrenched personal interests that have undermined the laws of the land, irrespective of the occasional efforts of our anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission;
“The myopic personal interests of these economic vampires have relegated our so-called international airports to mere airstrip status after almost seven decades in the industry, and can never be compared with globally renowned airports such as Heathrow, Dubai, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Qatar, Vancouver, and others.
“Even on the African continent, where one out of every six Africans is a Nigerian population-wise, the South African pairs of Tambo-Johannesburg and Cape Town, Cairo, Casablanca-Morocco and Houari Boumediene in Algeria, have all outpaced Nigeria and we also lag behind South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopian Airlines,” he added.
Nkemkanma further stated “that our national historical public policy journey from indigenisation, Commercialisation, Privatisation, Public partnerships, concessions, and others has fetched us nothing rather than monumental embarrassment, massive corruption, and controversies in the Aviation and other
sectors. “
In another development, the House, adopted a motion by Yusuf Ahmed Doro, calling for an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the activities of the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Authority from its inception to date, to ascertain if it is in tandem with the enabling law.
Doro, in his motion, noted that in compliance with the provision of the NSIA Act 2011signed in May 2011 the
the fund was allocated an initial US$lbillion (Naira equivalent) in seed capital and other subsequent allocations to the funds by the federation.
“The NSIA Funds is composed of three distinct funds, (the Stabilization, future Generation and Nigeria Infrastructure funds respectively) each with specific investment and development objectives.
“Also aware that some of the managed funds by the Authority include the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) where US$1 billion was injected for the construction of
Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway and Lagos Ibadan Expressway, “he stated.
Dominica Nwabufo
