The federal government has said that the decision to move the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos was done in consultation with stakeholders.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, said that those affected by the decision to move the headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there was no office space for them in Abuja.
Orah noted that it was ill-advised in the first place to move the headquarters to Abuja when there was no single FAAN building in Abuja to accommodate all of them at once.
He said: “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria notes the inquiries some Nigerians have made regarding the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, to relocate the corporate Headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to its original base, Lagos, where it has operated for decades until recently.
“FAAN wishes to inform Nigerians that following wide consultations by the new Management of FAAN with stakeholders, which also involved the Unions, it was agreed that this was in the best interest of the Authority and the country for now for the following reasons:
“Those affected by the decision to move the headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there is no office space for them in Abuja. It was ill-advised in the first place to move the headquarters to Abuja when there was no single FAAN building in Abuja to accommodate all of them at once.”
Orah added that having returned to Lagos, the Authority would be liable to pay them DTA (Duty Tour Allowance) because technically they are working out of station as their official posting is to Abuja.
He stressed that the Minister has decided to stop this waste of public resources and rip-off on the public purse.
Orah noted that the other option open to the Authority was abandon the old FAAN building in Lagos to rot away and to use its scarce resources to rent an office space in Abuja for millions of Naira of public money when in actual fact more than sixty percent of its activities are in Lagos given the huge passenger volume of the Lagos airports.
He said the stakeholders and the Minister decided against that and to save the country this waste.
Orah added that the minister has rolled out plans to get concessionaires to build befitting offices for the Authority in Lagos and Abuja and until that is done, the Authority would continue to manage its old building in Lagos that can accommodate all its Directors and senior officials for now.