Nosa Osula Aituamen
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo has threatened to revoke a contract for the construction of the second runway at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, citing an exorbitant contract variation demanded by the contractor.
The Minister revealed this during a budget defense session with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Aviation.
He stated that the initial contract was awarded for N90 billion, with an initial payment of N30 billion released. However, the contractor subsequently demanded an astronomical increase of N532 billion, which the Ministry deemed unacceptable.
“After receiving the initial payment, the contractor abandoned the site, citing the need for the substantial contract variation,” Minister Keyamo explained.
“This exorbitant demand is clearly fraudulent and leaves us no other option but to terminate the contract and initiate a fresh bidding process for qualified contractors.”
The Minister defended the government’s plan to decentralize the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria across all six geopolitical zones, dismissing suggestions to discontinue the initiative.
He drew a parallel to the Nigeria Law School, which has multiple campuses despite its original location in Lagos.
Mr. Keyamo argued that the proposed Aerospace Universities aim to decentralize aviation education and training, mirroring the successful model of the Law School.
The committee also inquired about the outstanding pension payments for former Nigeria Airways employees, amounting to N36 billion.
The Minister clarified that the responsibility for these payments now lies with the Ministry of Finance, as they do not fall under capital project expenditure.
He assured the committee that the pensioners would receive their dues from the Finance Ministry.
The Ministry presented its 2025 budget proposal, amounting to N71.13 billion.
The budget allocates N69.2 billion for capital projects, N1.147 billion for personnel costs, and N745.7 million for overhead expenses.
The Joint Committee, chaired by Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, emphasized the need for detailed information on all 124 ongoing projects under the Ministry’s purview.
The committee requested the Ministry to submit this information within the next week for further consideration and approval of the budget proposal.