Federal Gov’t Rejects N532bn Contract Variation for Abuja Airport 2nd Runway, Seeks Fresh Bids

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has announced the rejection of a controversial contract variation of N532 billion for the construction of the second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The initial contract was awarded for N90 billion.

During a budget defense session with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Aviation on Wednesday in Abuja, Keyamo revealed that the ministry had terminated the contract and plans were underway to initiate a fresh bidding process for the project.

Keyamo explained that despite paying N3.4 billion in post-contract consultancy fees in May 2023 and releasing N30 billion of the total N90 billion contract sum, the contractor abandoned the project. He cited that the contractor had compensated settlers on the affected land with the assistance of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, but failed to resume work due to an unacceptable demand for a contract variation.

The contractor’s demand for an additional N532 billion was described by Keyamo as “outright fraud,” leaving the ministry with no option but to cancel the contract and open the project to new bids.

In addition to the runway project, lawmakers raised concerns during the session about the exclusion of N36 billion owed to workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways from the ministry’s 2025 budget proposal. Keyamo clarified that the responsibility for paying the debt had been shifted to the Ministry of Finance, as the funds were not part of the capital projects budget. He also noted that the affected pensioners had agreed to the new arrangement during a meeting with union leaders in November.

Keyamo also defended plans to establish Aerospace Universities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Some lawmakers had suggested discontinuing the initiative, pointing to the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria. However, the minister argued that, just as the Nigeria Law School had been decentralised, the new Aerospace Universities would address gaps in aviation training that NCAT has not fully achieved since its establishment in 1964.

For the 2025 budget, Keyamo presented a proposal of N71.13 billion, with N69.2 billion allocated for capital projects, N1.147 billion for personnel costs, and N745.7 million for overhead costs.

However, the Joint Committee, led by Senator Abdulfatai Buhari (APC, Oyo North), requested a detailed report on the status of the 124 ongoing projects before approving the new budget. Senator Buhari stressed, “The historical background and current status of all ongoing projects are required by this committee no later than next week for budget approval.”