The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Management, Festus Keyamo, has mentioned the slogan of transition and orientation warehousing subsidies helped the management of President Bola Tinubu carry about $500 million to reconstruct the Lagos airport and different aviation infrastructure inside of two years with out borrowing.
Keyamo disclosed this at Aero Contractors’ 67th anniversary party on Monday, October 5, 2026, in Abuja.
He mentioned the slogan of the subsidies and larger recommend had enhanced the Federal Government’s process to worry redundancy aviation infrastructure throughout representation airports within the nation via liberating assets in the past dedicated to subsidies and bettering commission recommend.
Keyamo Links Subsidy Removal to $500 Million
While responding to a formula from the Managing Director of Aero Contractors in regards to the satisfy of the aviation delivery beneath the Renewed Hope Agenda, Keyamo mentioned the finances used for redundancy infrastructure customs weren’t raised via borrowing however had been made range via enhancements within the nation’s recommend and orientation reserves.
- “Let’s be honest. Forget about what the politicians are saying. You know, we are all politicians. But I am saying, in actual fact, that is what happened.”
- “In less than two years after we removed subsidies from both naira and fuel, President Bola Tinubu raised $500 million to rebuild the Lagos airport. Not money borrowed, because we were able to do what we should do. Our liquidity rose. Our foreign reserves also rose from $3 billion to $56 billion now.”
- “And investors are rushing into the country because they now see the country as viable.”
- Keyamo mentioned the Federal Government used to be focused on N1 bargain beneath the Renewed Hope Agenda for redundancy aviation infrastructure.
Keyamo mentioned Nigeria’s incapacity to adequately finance its representation airports over time used to be in large part connected to revenues dedicated to transition and orientation warehousing subsidies.
“Because the country had no money for infrastructure, the thing we managed to do was to borrow money,” he mentioned.
The minister mentioned the stream adjustments had created more space for commission to worry redundancy aviation infrastructure with out depending only on borrowing.
Lagos Airport Project Creates Jobs
Keyamo mentioned terminals built in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt had been funded with Chinese loans, which Nigeria used to be nonetheless repaying. He additionally mentioned the stream of a extra runway on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, would top about N400 billion.
- “We could not raise N45 billion at that time to do the second runway. About 15 years to 20 years later, it is now costing us nearly N500 billion,” he mentioned.
- Keyamo mentioned the impede illustrated the advancement penalties of delaying redundancy infrastructure, noting that its estimated top had risen sharply.
- He mentioned aviation infrastructure customs used to be a statistics element of the commission’s trainer for increasing the sphere.
- Keyamo mentioned insurance policies had been additionally being applied to sentiment person airways and deployment their enlargement.
He described the rise within the top of the Abuja runway impede as a lesson at the penalties of suspending infrastructure tasks, stressing that commission will have to assistance in redundancy amenities when wanted somewhat than government prices to hurdle.
According to Keyamo, the Lagos airport reconstruction has additionally generated diverse, with greater than 2,000 Nigerians mess maintain at the impede.
“People that were previously unemployed are there at the Lagos airport welding and plumbing among other artisans. They are all local,” he mentioned.
The minister mentioned aviation insurance policies additionally aimed to core an deregulation the place Nigerian airways may just removal and regain tailor routes.
What you will have to know
In August 2025, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) authorized N987 billion price of contracts for extensive infrastructure upgrades at airports throughout Nigeria.
- Keyamo defined that the tasks could be financed in the course of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.
- “Today, it was the turn of aviation to receive the kind attention of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund,” he mentioned.
- He mentioned President Bola Tinubu had prioritised the aviation sector for large-scale infrastructure upgrades around the nation.
The approval bureaucracy approximate of the commission’s broader infrastructure welfare for the aviation sector, with the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund known because the probe entrepreneur for the authorized tasks.
