We, the undersigned Coalition of Civil Society Organizations, have closely followed the conversation on the Federal Government’s allocation of N712billion for what has been described as the reconstruction, rehabilitation, and modernization of Terminal One of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
This Coalition paid close attention to the briefing by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, wherein he announced that the project, will be executed with funds from the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.
The Minister also announced that the project involves the rehabilitation, upgrade and modernization of the International Airport Terminal One.
While this Coalition is not against the provision of world-class infrastructure to drive Nigeria’s economic growth and prosperity, there are important value for money, transparency, and accountability issues, which the Federal Government cannot afford to gloss over.
We make bold to state that monies being expended for the project are not personal monies of government officials, but public funds, which should be used, prudently, transparently, and in line with the most pressing priorities of the Nigerian people.
This Coalition is concerned that the quantum of funds being devoted to the project, coming on the heels of a recent upgrade of five airports across the country by the immediate past administration, is excessive, circumvents due process, and can hardly be justified in the context of the daily economic struggles of the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians.
For us, therefore, the key question is not whether Nigeria needs modernized airports or not. The fundamental question for us is: in the face of millions of poor, starving, and insecure citizens, can this project stand the priority test?
One of the core mandates of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund is to enhance agricultural value chain to boost food security.
How does the 712b project fundamentally enhance our country’s agricultural output and its value chain to make it a pressing priority of the moment.
We therefore join other well-meaning patriotic Nigerians in expressing legitimate concern and outrage over such a huge expenditure on an airport project at a time millions of our fellow citizens are languishing in poverty and economic deprivation occasioned by the government’s harsh, haphazard, and draconian policies.
Given the background of the economic agonies and pains Nigerians are facing, this is an approval that questions the government’s avowed commitment to channel public resources towards realizing the best objectives for the majority of citizens.
It clearly amounts to expending scarce national resources on projects that can be on the queue, behind our other pressing national priorities.
With the recent projections by the World Bank that poverty in Nigeria will increase by 3.6 percentage points over the next five years through 2027, our country requires more focus in priorities, which will give a helping hand to fellow struggling citizens.
Consequently, comparing this airport reconstruction to critical sectors shows evidence that there is clearly a mismatch of priorities.
In the 2025 budget, healthcare for over 200million Nigerians got the sum of 1.91 trillion, while agriculture received a proposed budget of 826.5billion.
That the amount of just one airport reconstruction is close to the annual budgets for key sectors, which should serve the welfare of Nigerians, speaks to the misplacement of national priorities.
Similarly, for the Federal Government that was recently admonishing state governors to place priority on healthcare, education and poverty reduction, it is clear that federal authorities are not practicing what they preach.
The deployment of scarce public funds for the execution of vainglorious white elephant projects is part of the unending assault to the sensibilities of long-suffering Nigerians.
A government that prioritizes fiscal discipline and prudent management of public funds will channel such a massive amount into priority areas like healthcare, education, agriculture, and poverty reduction.
Within the context of value for money and most pressing priorities, this particular approval woefully fails the tests.
This Coalition can boldly assert that the N712billion, if transparently and strategically utilized, can help pull out a good number of the 75 percent of Nigerians in the rural areas, which the World Bank in May, stated live below the poverty line.
There can therefore be no mistake the fact that this decision by the Federal Government is at variance, and crushingly contradicts the government’s posturing that it removed fuel subsidy in order to curb waste and fraud.
The fundamental question to pose is: what is more deceptive than plunging Nigerians into economic woes through total subsidy removal without adequate safety nets, only to deploy the funds realized to opaque, vain, and corruption-prone projects, which would have no real or lasting impact on the lives of citizens?
This Coalition is therefore of the considered view that the extravagant spending should be immediately reviewed and shelved.
In the context of transparency, accountability and due process, it is also curious that the Executive arm proceeded with this approval without any known deliberation whatsoever at the National Assembly.
Consequently, we need to remind the APC-led Federal Government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Nigerians across the states continue to live with the realities of infrastructural and social services decay, such as poor federal road networks, inadequate healthcare facilities, and unreliable power supply.
If the idea is to invest in infrastructure, these grassroots needs, which will boost areas like agriculture, electricity supply, taking out-of-school children off the streets, and enhance the agriculture value-chain, are the ones that should be addressed first, not elitist airport reconstruction.
For the sake of transparency and accountability, this administration is also duty-bound to officially declare in clear and unambiguous terms the total savings that have accrued from the removal of fuel subsidy.
Our Demands: This Coalition therefore demands as follows:
- Reallocation of N712b: Redirect the proposed N712 billion towards more urgent and critical grassroots infrastructure projects, in such areas as rural feeder roads, cottage industries, healthcare, education and poverty reduction.
- Declaration of Subsidy Savings: We urge the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government to immediately declare the actual savings made from fuel subsidy removal and allocate them towards impactful projects benefiting the majority of impoverished Nigerians.
Call to Action:
We urge Nigerians to join us in rejecting this wasteful spending and demanding accountability from our leaders.
Let’s prioritize the well-being of our citizens over grandiose projects. Together, we can demand transparency, accountable, and responsive governance.
Signed:
- Socio Economic Research and Development Centre (SERDEC)
- Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
- Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Development Awareness (CESDA)
- Grassroots Center for Rights & Civic Orientation (GRACO)
- Gee Foundation for Social Justice and Development
- 21st Century Community Empowerment for Youth & Women Initiative (CEYWI)
- Nurturelife Initiative for Health & Empowerment
- Civic Spaces Initiative (aka RILDEV)
