President Bola Tinubu has approved the exclusion of properties belonging to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria within and around airports from sale to private individuals.

The decision, according to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), received the approval of the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday.

For several years, FAAN has held residential and operational properties within and around airport precincts, originally built to accommodate essential aviation staff such as air traffic controllers, rescue and firefighting personnel, security officers, and navigational technicians.

In 2025, FAAN commenced demolitions of homes in Kano amid ownership disputes, noting the quarters were built specifically for aviation workers and that they were never properly sold or transferred to third parties.

With the new directive, retired staff members who are now private occupiers of FAAN-owned properties may be evicted for critical staff members.

Keyamo disclosed the development in a video posted on his verified X handle, stating that the move was aimed at safeguarding aviation operations and ensuring that essential technical staff remain within airport premises for emergency response and operational efficiency.

He added that the exclusion applies to all FAAN-owned properties in and around airports nationwide.

The minister explained that the affected properties had previously been listed for disposal by a presidential committee on government properties, established during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“We sought the approval of the FEC to exclude properties owned by the Federal Airports Authority in and around airports in the country from disposal to private individuals by a committee called the Presidential Committee on Properties,” the minister said.

Keyamo noted that the decision was necessary to resolve ongoing disputes involving individuals claiming to have purchased some of the affected properties under previous arrangements.

“Now, it has been our problem at the airport when people come and say, because they are owner-occupiers, they own properties within or around the airport meant for very technical staff, such as firefighting staff, AVSEC, and navigational staff.

“The airport is an environment where you can have an emergency at any time and, as a result, you need those people to stay within government quarters inside the airport.”

Reaffirming the government’s stance, he added, “The President has graciously said we should exclude all of those properties from disposal to private individuals.

“I am making this public announcement to people who thought they had bought—or purported to have bought—these properties: we will not give those properties to them.

“We told them from the beginning that these properties were originally excluded, but they said they didn’t get any memo to that effect. Now, there is a memo, and we will not concede any of those properties within or around the airport to any private individual.”