FAAN denies borrowing $500m to acquire 30 aircraft

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has denied that it borrowed $500m from China to acquire 30 aircraft for domestic airlines.

It was widely reported last week that FAAN had borrowed $500m to acquire aircraft to help ailing domestic airlines to re-fleet.

However, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN,  Mr. Yakubu Dati, in a statement on Sunday said, “FAAN has not borrowed $500m from China or any country for that matter.

“FAAN is a service provider in the industry and it is presently preoccupied with translating the transformational aviation master plan into concrete realities.”

According to him, the reorientation of aviation employees is being vigorously pursued through capacity development.

Besides, he said the agency’s Managing Director, Mr. George Uriesi, had been busy spearheading the paradigm shift towards service delivery, accountability and self-sustenance.

However, Dati said the Ministry of Aviation was making arrangements to facilitate the acquisition of 30 airplanes to boost the operations of domestic airlines.

According to him, the modalities are being fine-tuned to checkmate the abuse of the Aviation Intervention Fund.

He said, “This strategy will plug the loophole that allows fortune seekers free access to this fund. Some airports have been designated as agro-allied and cargo terminals to promote investment and make them self-sustaining.

“In the area of safety and security, modern security equipment have been procured, following a comprehensive security threat and vulnerability assessment.”