Four years after, FG reverses decision, relocates FAAN to Lagos

Four years after the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari relocated all the aviation agencies to Abuja, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reversed the decision by asking the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to relocate to Lagos.

This was revealed in a memo dated January 15^th, 2024, and signed by the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku.

The memo read, “The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development has directed that the Headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should be relocated from Abuja to Lagos.

”Consequent upon the above, you are requested to provide the implication of the relocation to the management.”

Recall that former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika had in May 2020, issued a 45-day ultimatum to the agency’s heads to relocate to Abuja.

The letter was dated May 4, 2020, with the reference number: FMA/PMD/7061/T/4 with the head: ‘Relocation of Aviation Agencies’ Headquarters to Abuja,’ signed by Muhammad Shehu, Director, Human Resource Management on behalf of the ministry.

Sirika argued that the directive was due to the need to reduce the cost of governance and manage scarce resources.

The affected aviation agencies were the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Investigation Safety Bureau (NSIB) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

Not a few had kicked over the relocation of many of the agencies to Abuja in 2020 as a misnomer, arguing that aviation agencies had no business in Abuja as Lagos remains the hub of aviation business in Nigeria.

Relocation presented a challenge in the humongous cost of moving both personnel and administrative solid and soft assets to the federal capital.

Wole Shadare