The Igbo Leaders of Thought has rejected the federal government's decision to hand over Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu to a private operator. The group, comprising prominent Igbo intellectuals, traditional rulers and stakeholders, called the move "another grave act of injustice against Ndigbo" and accused the administration of further marginalising the South-East.
Aviation minister Festus Keyamo formally transferred the airport to Aero Alliance Limited last Thursday after completing necessary documentation. The 30-year public-private partnership agreement, which Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah facilitated, grants the concessionaire full responsibility for financing, rehabilitating, expanding, operating and managing the facility.
In a statement issued Monday, the group warned that withdrawing federal funding would damage the airport's infrastructure, operational efficiency, safety standards and passenger services. The statement, signed by ILT president Prof.
Elochukwu Amucheazi and secretary Prof. Jerry Chukwuokolo, noted that the concession had sparked earlier controversy over transparency, insufficient consultation, worker concerns and contract length.
ILT said the federal government ignored these unresolved issues and awarded the contract to a company with no track record managing international airports of comparable size anywhere in Nigeria or beyond. The group pointed out that Nigeria's six international airports now have an unusual distinction—Akanu Ibiam is the only one fully financed, operated and managed by private interests while the government continues funding the other five.
The group traced the airport's history back to the 1950s, when the former Eastern Region Government built it as an aerodrome. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo's military administration upgraded it to regular airport status during the late 1970s.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's government elevated it to international status in 2007, the group recalled. International operations commenced in 2013 after extensive rehabilitation work under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Between the Yar'Adua and Jonathan administrations, the federal government invested approximately ₦14 billion upgrading the facility. In October 2019, the late President Muhammadu Buhari's administration approved a ₦10 billion special intervention fund for runway rehabilitation, airfield lighting and perimeter fencing improvements.
The work was completed and inaugurated in August 2020 under aviation minister Hadi Sirika. ILT argued that President Tinubu's administration had erased these gains by conceding the airport while continuing to fund and manage Nigeria's other international airports.
According to the group's statement, none of Nigeria's remaining five international airports—Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, and three others—operate under private concession arrangements.
