Honour your deal with Bi-Courtney before any other concession, Senate tells Minister
Following series of explanations and presentation by the chairman of Bi-Courtney, Barr. Wale Babalakin, the concessionaire of Muritala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 before the Senate, the Senate Committee on Privatisation has in unison, told the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika he must be adhered to before other airports could be given to private operators as concessions.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, who led other members on a tour of the MMA2, said the agreement signed between Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria on the Build, Operate and Transfer of the MMA2 must be in place before other airports could be given to private operators as concessions.
According to him, “We will summon the Minister of Aviation to the National Assembly to present his side of the argument why the agreement signed under the concession is not being followed.
“Why will you concession an airport and still come to the government to ask for money to fund another facility when you have a private sector organisation already funding it? FAAN is a parastatal under the ministry, so we have no business talking with them. Let the minister explain what is happening and correct the problem.”
Murray-Bruce said the sector would get zero allocation from the Federal Government from next year as the private sector had shown the capability to manage the airports.
The Senate made it clear that if the concession agreement was not implemented, all those who participated in the process should be tried.
The Chief Executive Officer, Bi-Courtney Limited, Capt. Jari Williams, said the company had lost about 50 per cent of its expected revenue from the concession.
