The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has come under fire for the N712bn approved for the renovation of the E and D wings of the Old Murtala Muhammed Airport terminal in Lagos.

Keyamo recently announced the approval of the Federal Executive Council to renovate the Lagos airport terminal with the sum of N712bn, aimed at giving a holistic facelift to the terminal building.

The project, which marks the first full-scale rehabilitation of the Lagos airport’s old terminal building since its inception, has been awarded to CCECC, the same Chinese firm behind the construction of Terminal 2 at the airport. The scope of the tasks also includes apron expansion, construction of access roads, and bridges around the facility.

However, Nigerians on social media have expressed outrage over the amount earmarked for the project, with many believing that N712bn is too much for the work to be done at the airport. Popular activist Omoyele Sowore likened the old terminal to a ‘war zone’ and accused the government of deliberate neglect of the airport infrastructure to spend the huge sum of N712bn on its repairs.

“Now I understand that the situation at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, showing its disgraceful dilapidated state, resembling a war zone, was not accidental. It appears that it was intentionally neglected to facilitate a massive scheme for ‘repairs’ totaling N712bn. They’ve finished Nigeria!” Sowore said.

Another X user, Eze Uchenna Francis, stressed that the money announced was beyond the work meant to be done. “Is that what you guys are spending N712bn on, when people are starving? Is this the best you can think of?”

Tosin Olugbenga also expressed concerns, saying, “This huge sum of N712bn is equivalent to $500m at the official rate. That amount can build a new world-class airport of international standards from scratch. You want to revamp Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure with N900bn, but Lagos alone got N700bn. Perimeter fence alone is N49bn.”

However, a user, Baámofín Esà Okè, defended the minister, insisting that “N712bn or $500m can’t build a world-class airport. The new Ethiopian Airport is estimated to cost $7.8bn. The total cost for the construction of Heathrow Terminal 5 was £4.3bn. Let’s be guided.”

A retired pilot, Capt Muhammad Badamosi, expressed strong concerns over the Federal Government’s lack of transparency regarding the recently announced airport renovation project. “In a country without accountability, any amount for a project can be given to us by our shameless administrators without the fear of contradiction or challenge,” he said.

Badamosi criticised the absence of a publicly disclosed budget breakdown for the project, describing it as a reflection of the broader accountability crisis in the country. He urged members of the media to demand full disclosure of the renovation costs, citing Ghana as a regional example where public infrastructure projects are handled with greater transparency.

“I urge the journalists in our midst to ask for the breakdown of the cost of the renovation for transparency, as done in other countries like our nearest English-speaking neighbor, Ghana,” he added.

Industry expert John Ojukwu asked the government to leave non-aeronautical works to private firms through concession and focus on delivering world-class aeronautical services. “What are they upgrading, Aeronautical Services or the non-Aeronautical Services? They had better stop the upgrading if it is for the non-Aeronautical Services, which should be given out for concession now so they can face the Aeronautical Services, which are necessarily our obligations to ICAO and its members.”

Keyamo responds

In response to the outcries, Keyamo explained that upgrading the old terminal became imminent, considering the increased passenger traffic and the dilapidated state of the airport infrastructure. The building, which was inaugurated in 1979, was built by the Olusegun Obasanjo-led military regime.

Explaining the government’s intention, Keyamo said, “Due to years of neglect & because the traffic over time quadrupled beyond its capacity, the building & facilities at Terminal One became totally decrepit. We have been engaged in some patch jobs over the years just to make it a bit presentable.”

Keyamo added that the ministry also got approval to expand the building and the Apron in order to accommodate more aircraft, including wide-body planes. “That is not all; we are constructing two new independent ring roads in and out of the airport (one for departure and one for arrival) and a bridge that will take travellers directly to the upper floor of Terminal Two Departure lounge, instead of lifting our luggage up the escalators when we are departing. It is a design error we intend to correct,” the minister added.

The minister also added that the Federal Government was not borrowing to prosecute the project, but the excess money realised from the removal of fuel subsidy under the Renewed Hope infrastructure Development Fund will be expended in the project.