Labour Party describes N712b Airport Renovation as outrageous, insensitive

• …says in Europe, Africa airports are constructed below $475 million

By Jude Opara, Abuja

The Labour Party (LP) has taken a swipe at the federal government over the recent announcement by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, that the country intends to spend the sum of N712 billion ($475 million) to renovate the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

In a statement on Monday, Ken Asoqwa, the Senior Special Adviser to the Acting National Chairman of the LP, Sen. Nenadi Usman described the project as “outrageous and insensitive” because it is coming at a time when “63% of Nigerians – approximately 133 million citizens are classified as in multidimensional poverty, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.”

“This is not just wicked; it is satanic and speaks to a gross disregard for the plight of the masses,” the party said, adding that the APC-led administration is prioritising luxury over the welfare of citizens.

The statement criticized the project, saying it underscores the government’s lack of empathy in directing funds saved from the removal of subsidy on petroleum, to funding the lifestyles of the rich instead of uplifting the living standards of other Nigerians.

He wrote; “To withdraw this lifeline from the poor only to channel the proceeds into a luxury terminal accessible exclusively to the rich is a new low in governmental wickedness.

“The APC government has completely abandoned all pretence of empathy or sound governance. One wonders why a project of this nature, with clear commercial viability, could not be executed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.”

According to him, “Even more appalling is the Minister’s disclosure that the so-called Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, from which this project will be financed, is made up of savings from the removal of fuel subsidy – the only meaningful benefit the average Nigerian had derived from our God-given fossil fuel resources.”

The statement further questioned why the the terminal buildings are not revenue-generating investments, like it happens in other countries, instead of squandering the subsidy savings on an elitist project that benefits a fraction of the population?

“Let us ask: how many Nigerians stripped of the subsidy era benefits even use air travel today? What business do they have with airport terminals when basic transportation, healthcare, and food are now luxuries beyond their reach?”

Asogwa said the opposition party is not surprised due to what he described as the well documented fiscal recklessness of the President Bola Tinubu led administration.

“Look at the Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway, a white elephant project estimated at N15 trillion (about $12 billion), costing taxpayers an outrageous N4 billion per kilometre. Misplaced priorities are clearly the signature of this administration.”

“Our findings across Africa, Asia, and Europe reveal several instances where brand-new, state-of-the-art airports have been constructed from the ground up at costs well below $475 million. How then does this government justify blowing such a colossal amount of public funds on a mere renovation?”, the statement concluded.