The Chairman of the Board of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Abdullahi Ganduje, has observed that the recent fire outbreak at the old terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, may impact negatively the ongoing aviation reform programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Ganduje, in the company of other board members, stated this on Thursday at the airport during a tour of the burnt terminal to know the extent of the damage caused by the inferno.

Ganduje, however, expressed confidence in the capacity of airport staff, led by the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Olubunmi Kuku, to manage the situation effectively.

The fire had destroyed sensitive equipment of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) facilities at FAAN, and other concessionaires’ facilities at the terminal.

He said: “We decided to be here in order to see for ourselves, because we say seeing is believing. We have seen the damage that occurred, but at the same time, we have to congratulate the Managing Director of FAAN and her management team, especially the firefighters. Over 150 of them were around until the fire was completely quenched. This is an unfortunate situation.

“We have not got the report yet. The Managing Director is working on that. But what we could say is that this is really affecting the aviation reform by President Bola Tinubu, but equally the same, the staff are equal to the task.

“From what we have seen, the firefighters did a lot of work. We have seen that a lot of very sensitive equipment has been destroyed, but no death was recorded anyway. I think the situation is under control, but it’s unfortunate.”

He decried the incident, which affected critical airport infrastructure, raising concerns about passenger safety, staff welfare, and the integrity of operational equipment.

Ganduje expressed that while the full report on the cause and extent of the damage was still being compiled by FAAN, the board considered it necessary to visit the site to assess the situation firsthand.

He assured that with the commitment demonstrated by FAAN personnel, normalcy would soon be fully restored and reform initiatives would continue without major challenge.

Talking about the ongoing remodelling of the international terminal, Ganduje described the quality of work as impressive and comparable to international standards.