A coalition of Nigerian civil society organisations has condemned the Federal Government’s approval of N712 billion for the reconstruction, rehabilitation, and modernisation of Terminal One at Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, describing the expenditure as “excessive,” “misplaced,” and a circumvention of national priorities.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the coalition—comprising the Socio Economic Research and Development Centre (SERDEC), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Development Awareness (CESDA), and several others—said it was alarmed by the scale of the project announced by Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
While acknowledging the need for modern infrastructure, the group said, “the monies being expended for the project are not personal finances of government officials, but public funds, which should be used prudently, transparently, and in line with the most pressing priorities of the Nigerian people.”
The statement noted that the project’s funding—sourced from the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund—comes at a time of “daily economic struggles of the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians” and shortly after major upgrades to five airports by the previous administration.
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“For us, the key question is not whether Nigeria needs modernised airports or not,” the coalition said. “The fundamental question is: in the face of millions of poor, starving, and insecure citizens, does this project stand the priority test?”
The groups argued that the fund was originally mandated to strengthen the agricultural value chain to improve food security, questioning how the N712 billion allocation “fundamentally enhances our country’s agricultural output” at a time the World Bank projects a 3.6 percentage point rise in poverty by 2027.
They compared the airport’s cost to entire national budgets for key sectors, noting that “healthcare for over 200 million Nigerians got the sum of N1.91 trillion, while agriculture received N826.5 billion. That the cost of just one airport reconstruction comes close to the annual budgets for key sectors… speaks to the misplacement of national priorities.”
The coalition also criticised the government for bypassing parliamentary scrutiny, saying, “it is curious that the Executive arm proceeded with this approval without any known deliberation whatsoever at the National Assembly.”
They demanded that the expenditure be reviewed and reallocated towards grassroots projects in rural roads, healthcare, education, and poverty reduction, and urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to declare “in clear and unambiguous terms” the savings from fuel subsidy removal.
“A government which prioritises fiscal discipline and prudent management of public funds will channel such a massive amount into key impact areas… not elitist airport reconstruction,” the statement concluded.
The coalition called on citizens to “join us in rejecting this wasteful spending and demanding accountability from our leaders,” insisting that “together, we can demand transparency, accountable and responsive governance.”
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