💸 N712 Billion Lagos Airport Upgrade: Misplaced Priority, Says Opposition ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticized the federal government’s plan to expend N712 billion on renovating the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, calling it a display of fiscal irresponsibility and misaligned priorities.

🔍 ADC’s Objections & Key Concerns

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, questioned whether the National Assembly had authorized the massive airport renovation. The party described the project as “reckless” and “insensitive,” particularly given the nation’s broader socioeconomic challenges.

They further argued:

1. Nigeria’s public universities still face chronic underfunding
2. Healthcare provision is largely inaccessible to the majority
3. Millions of Nigerians struggle with poverty while luxury terminal spending looms large 

The ADC expressed deep skepticism about whether adding another “gold-plated terminal” to an already functional airport offers real value. They pointed to the fact that MMIA only handled 6.5 million passengers in 2024, less than half its designed capacity of 14 million.

🏗️ Government’s Justification

In response, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, clarified on social media that the funding would come from the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund—an initiative supported through savings from fuel subsidy removal, not by foreign borrowing. He emphasized the renovation was imperative due to terminal decay from chronic underinvestment and overwhelming traffic volume.

Keyamo defended the upgrade, stating facilities at Terminal 1 had become dilapidated, unable to safely handle current passenger flows—a situation he deemed unsustainable.

🧩 Broader Context & Questions Raised

Surprisingly, the planned renovation was announced after MMIA had undergone a significant upgrade under former President Buhari. In March 2022, a new international terminal was inaugurated boasting:

1. 66 check-in counters
2. Seven jet bridges
3. Capacity for up to 14 million passengers annually 

The proposed N712 billion investment echoes the cost of previously funded airport infrastructure across multiple cities—including Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt—built under a Chinese loan. All that was achieved before, critics ask: was it worthwhile?

This raises serious concerns over transparency and oversight, especially since the expenditure has yet to receive parliamentary approval or public accounting. ADC demands a full independent audit and immediate suspension of the project.

📊 What N712 Billion Could Get Instead

To illustrate the scale of the proposed spend, ADC points out that N712 billion could instead:

1. Build at least seven fully equipped teaching hospitals
2. Fund free basic education for five years in three geopolitical zones
3. Support rural electrification for thousands of communities
4. Rehabilitate kilometers of federal road and bridge networks 

🧭 What’s Next?

1. Questions remain on why a costly upgrade is being pursued without clear parliamentary buy-in
2. Nigeria’s larger needs—education, healthcare, transport infrastructure—are still underfunded
3. Aviation experts suggest that attention might better be directed toward optimizing existing regional airports, improving maintenance, and enhancing connectivity rather than building high-end terminals 

✅ Final Verdict

What some hail as necessary modernization, others—including the ADC—view as excessive and misaligned with urgent national development needs. At a time when millions confront hardship, spending nearly half a trillion naira on a single airport terminal may not only lack justification—it may deepen distrust in government stewardship.