BREAKING: Minister rejects N532bn contract variation for Abuja Airport runway

The Minister of Aviation and AeroSpace Development, Festus Keyamo recently during the week said the Ministry has rejected an outrageous contract variation from N90billion to N532billion to construct the Second Runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Keyamo disclosed this while answering questions from members of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Aviation and Aviation Technology during his 2025 budget defence session.

He said a bidding process would be conducted to select a contractor to build the runway.

Keyamo said: “After N3.4billion post contract consultancy fee paid to the contractor handling the project in May 2023, N90billion was agreed to be for the whole contract out of which N30billion was released.

“The contractor, after receiving the N30billion and joining the Federal Capital Territory Administration to compensate some settlers on the affected land, left the site. All efforts made thereafter to get the contractor back to site proved abortive on the grounds of unacceptable contract variation they demanded for.

“The contractor in question is demanding for contract variation of N532billion from the original sum of N90billion for the execution of the contract. To us in the Ministry, the said variation is nothing but fraud, leaving us with no option than to cancel the contract and call for fresh bids.”

Members of the committee also asked the Minister why the N36billion owed workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways was not captured in the Ministry’s 2025 budget estimates.

Responding, Keyamo said payment of the N36billion has been shifted to the Ministry of Finance since the money is not meant for capital projects.

“The affected pensioners would soon get their due from the Ministry of Finance and not from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development. I met with leaders of the joint unions on this in November last year and they agreed to arrangement put on ground,” he said.

He however disagreed with suggestions made by some members of the committee that the establishment of Aerospace University across the six geo-political zones should be discontinued since there is already one in Zaria, Kaduna State.

According to him, as the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) was established in 1964, so also was the Nigeria Law School established in Lagos.

“While the Nigerian Law School has been decentralized, the Aviation College in Zaria has not followed suit which the Aerospace Universities are meant to correct,” he said.

On the N71.13billion proposed budgetary estimates for the ministry in 2025 Keyamo said N69.2billion is for capital projects, N1.147billion for personnel cost and N745.7million for overhead.

However, Chairman of the joint committee, Sen Abdulfatai Buhari, told the Minister that approval would be given the budgetary proposal after submission of full details on the current status of 124 projects being executed by the Ministry.

He said, “Historical background and current status of all the ongoing projects being executed by the ministry are needed as requested by this committee latest by next week before we can approve this budget.”

The committee also threatened to withhold approval of the 2025 budget for the Ministry if provision is not made for the N36 billion owed to former workers of the defunct Nigerian Airways.

Established in August 1958, Nigerian Airways was the nation’s flag carrier until it ceased operations in 2003 due to issues like mismanagement and accumulated debts. At its peak, the airline operated over 30 aircraft and employed hundreds of people.

In 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari, approved N22 billion as part payment of the N45 billion owed to the former employees. Despite this, a balance of N36 billion remained unpaid, leading to financial hardships and in some cases, the former aviation workers died while awaiting their entitlements.

During the budget defence session, the lawmakers called on the Federal Government to consider the payment of entitlements to the ex-workers of the defunct Nigerian airways.

The Senator representing Niger South, Peter Jiya, had called the  attention of the government to the non-payment of entitlements to ex-workers of the airline, many of whom he said have died or are currently battling financial hardship and ill health.

Jiya said that justice must be done for those who dedicated their lives to serving the nation’s aviation sector.

“There is an issue that is not in your budget, which is very key and critical. The defunct Nigerian Airways. There is a liability of N36 billion being owed. Some have died, many are sick and dying. Yet, the government is refusing to pay them. I think something should be done on that,” Jiya added.

He urged the lawmakers to ensure that provisions are made for the outstanding salaries in the 2025 budget of the aviation ministry before it will be approved.

“This budget should not pass without those people being provided for,” he said.

Keyamo in his response acknowledged the outstanding liability and confirmed that the ministry had consistently pursued its settlement.

The Minister said that under the previous administration, discussions were held between aviation sector unions and the government which resulted in an official agreement that N36 billion was due to the workers.

“Under the last administration, both the unions and the ministry sat down and arrived at that figure, about N36 billion,” he said.

He stated that President Bola Tinubu had transferred the burden of the payment from the ministry of aviation to the ministry of finance.

”However, there was a presidential directive for the ministry of finance to take over the payments, the liability from the ministry of aviation, because it would have been too much on the envelope of the ministry of aviation. The payment is domiciled in the ministry of finance.”

The minister said he has sent several reminders to the minister of finance for the payment through letters and official visitations.

“We have written several letters. We went there to visit, to press for payment. Myself and the union leaders, to show our transparency.

“I went there with the union leaders in November to meet the minister. They were all satisfied with our efforts. All the union leaders, the joint union aviation leaders, we went there, we appealed to him. He said he is working hard on it. That was in November, just two months ago.”

Sen Sahabi Ya’u, questioned the Minister of Finance’s failure to release the outstanding payment to the former aviation workers.

Ya’u emphasised the some of the former employees are in dire need, while others have already died without receiving their rightful entitlements

“There was still an approval. You cannot say that he doesn’t have N36 billion. Some of these people are yearning for what to eat. Some are no more. Please, let’s be sympathetic to ourselves,” Ya’u added.

The Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Aviation, Buhari, gave the Minister of Aviation one week to address lawmakers’ concerns regarding the outstanding payments owed to former aviation workers and other issues on ongoing projects in the ministry before the final budget will be considered and passed.