The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has signed the formal concession agreement for the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu State.
A statement by Special Adviser On Media and Communications to the Minister, Tunde Moshood, said the signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Abuja, where the Minister received a combined delegation of Enugu State Government officials and representatives of Aero Alliance, the concessionaire.
The Enugu State delegation was led by the Honourable Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Obi Ozor, while the Aero Alliance team included Engr. Chuks Aniekwe, Barrister Oyiwodu Okibe-Oga, Onyedikachi Nwachukwu, Kester Enwereonu, and Barrister Michael Nwaechie of Ivy Solicitors.
Also present from the Federal Government side were the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Dr. Yakubu Adams Kofarmata; the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku; Director, Legal Services, FAAN, Mrs. Bridget Iwinose Gold, alongside other top officials of the Ministry and FAAN.
The development marks a major milestone in the Federal Government’s drive to modernise Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure through strategic public-private partnerships.
In his address, Keyamo described the event as the conclusion of a painstaking and transparent process that began several years ago.
“Today is the end of a very long and tedious process regarding the concession of the Enugu Airport. The process culminated on the 31st of July, 2025, when the Federal Executive Council approved the proposal to concession the Enugu Airport, subject, of course, to contract,” the Minister said.
He explained that following the Federal Executive Council’s approval, the Ministry, FAAN, and Aero Alliance engaged in extensive negotiations, including consultations with aviation unions, to ensure that workers’ welfare remained a top priority.
“We did these agreements with the rights and privileges of workers uppermost in our minds. Let me say today that we have fully respected and preserved the rights of aviation workers. They have not been retrenched, their terms and conditions of employment have not changed in any way, and they remain workers of the Federal Government and FAAN,” he stressed.
