Forty five months after mandating the country’s aviation agencies to relocate their corporate headquarters to Abuja from Lagos, the federal government has begun the process of returning the operational base of the agencies back to Lagos, the commercial nerve and center of aviation businesses of Nigeria.
An internal memo mandating the Director, Human Resources and Administration of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to provide the agency with the implications of returning its operations to its former base was sighted by our correspondent on Thursday.
The document signed by FAAN Managing Director, Mrs. Olubumi Kuku and dated 15h January, 2024 revealed that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo has directed that the airport management agency relocate to Lagos.
The letter was titled ‘Re: Relocation of FAAN Headquarters From Abuja to Lagos’ and addressed to the DHR&A.
Condemnations followed the order by the elsewhere Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika’s directive that the agencies moved their headquarters to Abuja within 45 days in a letter dated 4th May 2020.
Those affected by that directive included the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the then Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET).
Sirika had cited the need for efficient and effective coordination and enhanced service delivery for the demands.
