The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to earmark 70 per cent of its investment on the provision of critical aeronautical infrastructure at the airports.
Nnolim Nnaji, the Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, made this known during the lawmaker’s tour of the Lagos Airport on Tuesday.
Nnaji said that investing more on critical aeronautical infrastructure was necessary to improve the security and safety of the airports.
He said: “l believe that whatever investment FAAN is projecting, it should put 70 per cent of the investment in providing of infrastructure. That is the path we should tow now.
“You have to find how to put up a strategy on how to focus on the safety and security of the airports as the airport terminals can be containerised.
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“What is important for airline operators is to land in a safe airport with good security, good runways, airfield lightning, operational and perimeter fence that guarantees the safety of their aircraft.”
Nnaji said the provisions of the new aviation industry bill, currently under consideration in the House, would be friendly to the workers, the industry and airline operators, adding that without airlines, there would be no FAAN and verse versa.
He urged FAAN to also prepare for the future by saving for the rainy days so as to avoid a situation like that of Covid-19 pandemic whereby the agency had challenges with funding and meeting other necessary needs.
The lawmaker explained that the essence of preparing for the future just happened to the industry.
“You have to prepare for any situation, nobody expected this kind of situation we find ourselves but it is a lesson to all of us that we have to prepare for any eventuality.
“Therefore, in doing so we need to go into aggressive infrastructure development in areas of non-aeronautical aspects of the industry,” he said.
The lawmaker also promised that the National Assembly would protect the interest of the industry in the parliament.
He said the house would do so by pushing for the retention of the 25 per cent remittance, FAAN paid into the consolidated account of the federation.
Nnaji said this was to enable FAAN to put in place a 10-year developmental plan and use the funds to build critical infrastructure for the aviation industry.
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