The Senator Nenadi Usman-led Labour Party (LP) has dismissed the timing of the planned renovation of the Lagos Airport as a misplaced priority.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) last week approved ₦712 billion for the renovation of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
In a statement signed by the Senior Special Adviser (Media) to the Acting National Chairman, Mr. Ken Asogwa, in Abuja, on Monday, the Labour Party argued that the funds would have been put to better use to improve the quality of life of ordinary Nigerians.
According to the party, "The recent revelation by the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, that the Federal Government intends to spend a staggering ₦712 billion on the renovation of the Lagos Airport is as outrageous as it is insensitive.
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"It is deeply troubling that the APC-led administration is prioritising an extravagant $475 million airport renovation at a time when 63% of Nigerians--approximately 133 million citizens--are classified as multidimensionally poor, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
"This is not just wicked; it is satanic and speaks to a gross disregard for the plight of the masses.
"Even more appalling is the minister's disclosure that the so-called Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, from which this project will be financed, is made up of savings from the removal of fuel subsidy--the only meaningful benefit the average Nigerian had derived from our God-given fossil fuel resources.
"To withdraw this lifeline from the poor only to channel the proceeds into a luxury terminal accessible exclusively to the rich is a new low in governmental wickedness.
"The APC government has completely abandoned all pretence of empathy or sound governance. One wonders why a project of this nature, with clear commercial viability, could not be executed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
"Around the world, terminal buildings are revenue-generating investments. Why not invite private capital, especially when the return on investment is self-sustaining, instead of squandering subsidy savings on an elitist project that benefits a fraction of the population?
"Let us ask: how many Nigerians stripped of the subsidy-era benefits even use air travel today? What business do they have with airport terminals when basic transportation, healthcare, and food are now luxuries beyond their reach?
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"Yet, we are not surprised. This government's fiscal recklessness is well documented. Recall the award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway--a white elephant project estimated at ₦15 trillion (about $12 billion), costing taxpayers an outrageous ₦4 billion per kilometre. Misplaced priorities are clearly the signature of this administration.
"Our findings across Africa, Asia, and Europe reveal several instances where brand-new, state-of-the-art airports have been constructed from the ground up at costs well below $475 million.
"How then does this government justify blowing such a colossal amount of public funds on a mere renovation?
"If this doesn't shock the conscience of Nigerians, we truly wonder what will." End.
