Keyamo says subsidy removal funded $500m Lagos airport rebuild

African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has cited Germany’s decision to cut taxes on petrol and diesel to strengthen his argument that governments can intervene to cushion citizens from severe energy-price shocks, former Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye has said.

Dino Melaye made the comparison in an intervention titled, “Like Germany… Like Atiku,” arguing that Germany’s response to rising fuel costs showed that government intervention in the energy market was not necessarily incompatible with economic reform.

Germany announced a reduction of about €0.17 per litre in taxes on gasoline and diesel as part of measures to ease the pressure of rising fuel prices on households and businesses.

For Melaye, the German intervention provides a useful reference point for Atiku’s proposal to use government policy to reduce the burden of high fuel prices on Nigerians.

He argued that fuel costs extend far beyond motorists, affecting transportation, food distribution, manufacturing, small businesses and other economic activities.

Atiku had maintained that he would reintroduce a form of fuel subsidy if elected in 2027, but has sought to distinguish his proposal from the former import-subsidy regime.

MEANWHILE, the removal of fuel subsidy has enabled the Federal Government to raise about $500m for the reconstruction of the Lagos airport and other aviation infrastructure, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said.

Keyamo disclosed this yesterday in Lagos while speaking at the 67th anniversary of Aero Contractors Airline, where he highlighted the investments made in the aviation sector under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Responding to a question on the state of the industry under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the minister said the funds for the infrastructure projects were not obtained through borrowing.

According to him, the administration’s economic reforms had improved Nigeria’s liquidity and strengthened its foreign reserves, creating conditions that made it easier to attract capital for major infrastructure projects.

“The President raised $500m to rebuild the Lagos airport. Not money borrowed, because we were able to do what we should do. Our liquidity rose. Our foreign reserves also rose from $3 billion to $56 billion now,” Keyamo said.

He added that improved economic conditions had also increased investor confidence in Nigeria, with more investors showing interest in the country.

Keyamo maintained that Nigeria’s priority should be to create an environment capable of attracting investors who could bring capital, build infrastructure and generate employment.

He said sustainable employment could not be achieved through government declarations alone, stressing that jobs were ultimately driven by investment and infrastructure development.