*Insisit on verifying all receipts of payment

By Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA—MEMBERS of the  House of Representatives Committee on Aviation yesterday rejected the N52.5 billion annual revenue generation by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.

Members of the committee said information at their disposal suggested that FAAN collected  $60 per international passenger, apart from the sundry sources from which the authority generated its revenue.

The committee, chaired by Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, PDP, Abia, demanded that FAAN’s acting Managing Director, Salihu Domuna, furnish the committee with all records of revenue accruals from both domestic and foreign airlines.

The acting MD, alongside his directors, appeared before the committee yesterday to defend the 2016 budget proposals of the agency, but the committee’s chairperson asked for details on FAAN’s IGR as critical to the sitting.

Domuna in his budget  presentation, said there was an approved/projected IGR of N72 billion for the agency, but added that due to debts incurred by some airlines and government agencies, only N52.5 billion was generated.

He said the amount was arrived at after computing both aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue generation within the year 2015.

Ayo Omidiran ,APC, Osun, a member of the committee, said the committee needed to be given detailed payment records by all the airlines flying in Nigeria for them to appreciate what was presented by the MD.

The committee members also wondered how FAAN was projecting N76 billion IGR for 2016, at the time when last year’s projection couldn’t be met, despite lower figures generated in the preceding year.

The committee, however, adjourned yesterday to enable the officials gather all the relevant payment receipts before the issue of budget proposals could be discussed.