Prominent Igbo intellectuals and stakeholders under the Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), yesterday, rejected the transfer of the management of Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu to a private company by the Federal Government.

The group described the action as another “grave act of injustice” against Ndigbo in Nigeria. It stated that handing over the management of the airport further escalates the prolonged marginalisation of the South-East region in the affairs of the nation.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, last Thursday, handed over the Enugu International Airport to the concessionaire, Aero Alliance Limited, following the completion of all necessary documentation.

Under the 30-year public-private partnership arrangement, facilitated by the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mba, the company would finance, rehabilitate, expand, operate, and manage the airport.

However, in a strong-worded statement, ILT rejected the transfer of the airport to the concessionaire, warning that the withdrawal of Federal Government funding would definitely compromise the airport’s standards, including safety infrastructure, operational efficiency, and passenger experience.

The statement signed by its President, Prof. Elochukwu Amucheazi, and Secretary, Prof. Jerry Chukwuokolo, recalled that when the Federal Government commenced the process for the concession of the airport, it sparked significant controversy and backlash, revolving around issues of transparency, inadequate consultation, labour rights, contract duration, and the sustainability of private funding for such a critical national asset.

The group regretted that, while the issues surrounding the concession were still pending, the Federal Government went ahead and awarded the concession to a company with no visible record of managing an airport of such magnitude in Nigeria or overseas.

The statement further alleged that, of the six international airports in Nigeria, Enugu International Airport is the only one financed, operated, and managed by a private company, while the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Aviation, continues to fund the remaining five.

The group disclosed that the upgrade, which gave the airport a facelift, was officially inaugurated in August 2020 with fanfare in the South-East when Hadi Sirika was the Minister of Aviation, regretting that the President Bola Tinubu government had reversed all the gains by handing the airport over to a private company, while the Federal Government will continue funding and managing the remaining five international airports in the country.