Airport takeover: Tinubu seeks Reps’ approval to refund N24bn to Nasarawa, Kebbi

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday urged the House of Representatives to grant concurrent approval to the Federal Government for the refund of N24 billion to Nasarawa and Kebbi states for the takeover of the airports built by the duo.

The President’s request was contained in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, and read on the floor of the Green Chamber by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, during Thursday’s plenary.

The President is seeking the House’s approval to refund over N15bn to the Kebbi State Government and N9bn to its Nasarawa counterpart.

Kebbi State had earlier spent the money to construct the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, while the Nasarawa State Government spent N9bn for the construction of the Lafia Cargo Airport, Nasarawa

The letter read, “Establishment of a promissory note programme in favour of the Kebbi and Nasarawa State governments for the reimbursement of the respective costs of the construction of newly-built airports in those states that had been taken over by the Federal Government.

“The House of Representatives is invited to note that at the Executive Council meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, which was held on the 23rd day of May 2023, it was approved as follows:

“That a promissory note in the sum of N9,000,542,651,786.11 be issued to the Nasarawa State Government as a refund for the takeover of the newly constructed Nasarawa Airport.”

“That a promissory note in the sum of N15,137,336,95.88 only be issued to Kebbi State State Government as a refund for the takeover of the Birnin Kebbi International Airport.

“The House of Representatives may wish to note that by the provisions of item three of the second schedule of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, aviation, including airports, safety of aircraft, and carriage of passengers and goods by air, fall under the exclusive legislative list.

“The impact of this is that ownership, regulation, and control of airports in Nigeria are exclusive to the Federal Government,” the letter read.

Tinubu urged the House “to consider and grant concurrent approval for the establishment of the promissory notes programme” for both states.