FG’s airport concession plan best for Nigeria -Aligbe
Former Director of Public Affairs of the defunct Nigeria Airways, Chris Aligbe, has said that there is no option better than the concession initiative which the federal government has picked to revitalise and develop Nigeria’s airports.
Speaking at the 15th Akwaaba African Travel Market on Aviation Day at Eko Hotel, he said it is obvious that government does not have the money to develop and maintain airports in Nigeria, adding that currently, Nigeria cannot boast of a standard African airport.
Aligbe, who joined others to dissect the topic: “Impact of airport development and airlines on tourism growth,” said government can establish a national carrier with not more than five per cent equity in order to have a sovereign cover for it, but the best way to turn the nation’s airports around is through concessioning.
“In Nigeria, we do not have an African standard airport and if we don’t create it, we may never make any headway. Concessioning is mandatory for us; the unions may protest, but that is the only solution.
“The decision to concession four international airports is the best decision because government does not have the money to invest in airports.
“We have a lot more complex situation than Ghana because of our peculiarity, so we need to resort to concessioning. Government cannot do it and security should not be an excuse; if we want to join the comity of developed aviation, we must take a step.
“We have also not created the infrastructure and standard for tourism to grow, we cannot separate aviation from tourism, we need strong airlines and infrastructure for tourism to grow,” he stated.
Aligbe, who lamented that the country had attempted to float national carrier 10 times without fruition, said there is the need to have a national carrier that mustn’t be fully controlled by government like the defunct Nigeria Airways.
“Five per cent equity is not enough for government to control the airline, but enough for it to give it a sovereign cover,” he added.
Meanwhile, chief executive officer of Africa World Airline, Sean Mendis, has revealed the reason for making Accra its hub and not Nigeria where the market is.
He said the Ghanaian government has reduced all taxes and have created a friendly and enabling environment for aviation and general businesses to thrive, adding that airlines cannot operate in a place where the charges are unbearable and weigh down the airlines businesses.
Apart from the newly built terminal in Accra, which he described as world class, he said: “Ghana is reducing VAT on airlines and with the good terminal, it may not be as large as the one in Singapore, but it is a world class terminal. Ghana is more suitable and more business friendly for us to operate.
“We operate 34 times a week from Accra to Abuja and many airlines now prefer to connect from Accra because of lower landing fees and conduciveness. Ghana is the best place to go. But, with good infrastructure and friendly environment, Nigeria can continue to attract more traffic and connections.”
