By Daniel Eteghe & Okebugwu Chinomnso

Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation Tuesday faulted the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria’s inability to meet with its N35 billion revenue generation target for the year, lamenting that the agency only generated N20 billion.

Speaking at the the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Mrs. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, stressed that despite the huge budgetary allocation given to the authority, it could not boast of any airport with modern facilities.

Mrs. Onyejeocha noted that the agency had failed in recovering its huge debts running into billions of naira, adding that the agency had not demonstrated sufficient financial capacity and creativity.

She also pointed out that there was lopsided expenditure profile in FAAN, which is higher on overhead costs, running into 60 per cent, as opposed to capital projects, pegged around 40 per cent.

The committee chairman also sought to know, why FAAN will pay over N1.2 billion to two of its concessionaires, as opposed to the target N890 million earmarked for such payment.

She said: “How come the concessionaires owe FAAN and could not pay? It is clear that FAAN lacks live cycle. It then follows that FAAN may have failed as an organization. This is because of the manner the organization runs, the irregularities that surround its concession agreements.

It also appears there is no plan to make Nigerian airports look like what they should look like. Could it be privatized, considering the huge investment of capital in the airports, which gives the feeling that budgeting in FAAN is just a ritual?”

Responding to the issues raised, Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi, said the authority was embarking on a serious revenue recovery strategy to enable it meet with its statutory obligations.

He said FAAN was doing everything possible to bring infrastructure in the nation’s airports to meet up with the global standard.

” FAAN has a lot of problems but we know exactly what needs to be done and it is going to be brutal and different from what happens in the past. We have to become a normal airport authority. We are already using Abuja as a model with respect to all the amenities and works being done there, it can be done”

“I will share the road map with you. We need to change our business model. The MMA2 that one of you mentioned is not even a model for any airport in Nigeria. This terminal (MMIA) is over 30 years old and see how strong the structure and architecture are. You simply cannot compare this to the MMA2 which is already crumbling because of poor building materials and poor design, we can do better”

Uriesi further enjoined the House of Representative Committee to help FAAN recover its billions of naira debt being owed by various parastatals chief of which are Arik and Maevis.