THE House of Representatives has decried the state and status of the nation’s airports.
The lawmakers regretted that there was little to show for the huge investment made into the aviation sector by the Federal Government.
The House consequently directed its Committee on Aviation to investigate the N400 billion appropriated for the expansion, modernisation and management of 17 domestic and five international airports by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The mandate of the committee is to ascertain the factors responsible for the “damning and embarrassing” status of Nigerian airports and report back in two weeks.
The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion by Garba Datti (APC, Kaduna), who noted that with the whopping sums injected into the aviation sector for the upgrade of airports, rather than turn out to be symbols of national pride, they have become objects of condemnation.
“I wonder why the Federal Ministry of Aviation, after it obtained a $1 billion Chinese loan to improve facilities such as toilet, conveyor belts, avio bridges buses, software infrastructure and security in general would not live up to it responsibilities.
“It should also be of concern that in the last five years, the National Assembly has appropriated over N400 billion for the expansion, modernisation and management of 17 domestic and five international airports; none of these is yet to be felt.”
The motion was adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun.
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The House of Representatives and the Senate should be held responsible in part for this huge looting of our national treasury. This is because they are responsible for oversight of the executives. Hence if these huge sums were appropriated, then they should have done their job by overseeing and ensuring that our funds were judiciously used. The EFCC should investigate these expenditure. Over $2 billion can build first class airports in some parts of the world where there is sincerity of purpose, but in Nigeria, it can even repair airports! The rot is pervasive. I don’t envy Buhari at all.