The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has officially announced the relocation of its headquarters from Abuja to Lagos, following a directive from Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
This move aims to prevent the wastage of public resources, according to an internal memo signed by FAAN’s Managing Director, Olubunmi Kuku.
In the memo, Kuku conveyed the minister’s directive, stating, “The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development has directed that the Headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should be relocated from Abuja to Lagos.”
The decision comes after the agency’s initial move from Lagos to Abuja, which FAAN now admits was “ill-advised” as there was insufficient office space in the capital to accommodate its staff. As a result, employees who were affected by the earlier relocation have returned to Lagos.
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FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, addressed the public in a statement, confirming the headquarters’ relocation. The statement highlighted the importance of preventing the waste of public resources and addressing the challenges posed by the lack of adequate facilities in Abuja.
“The Authority wishes to assure members of the public that it will continue to act in the best interest of the public and the country,” FAAN stated, emphasizing its commitment to responsible governance and efficient resource utilization.
The decision is expected to have positive implications for the organization, curbing unnecessary expenditure and preventing the deterioration of FAAN’s abandoned building in Lagos. FAAN assures the public that despite the relocation, it remains steadfast in serving the country’s aviation needs effectively.
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This strategic move aligns with the government’s efforts to optimize operations and ensure responsible use of resources across its agencies.The relocation is a step towards enhancing efficiency within FAAN and reflects a commitment to prudent management in the interest of the Nigerian public.
Read FAAN Full Statement Below
PRESS RELEASE:
RE: RELOCATION OF FAAN CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS FROM ABUJA TO LAGOS
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria notes the inquiries some Nigerians have made regarding the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, to relocate the corporate Headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to its original base, Lagos, where it has operated for decades until recently.
FAAN wishes to inform Nigerians that following wide consultations by the new Management of FAAN with stakeholders, which also involved the Unions, it was agreed that this was in the best interest of the Authority and the country for now for the following reasons:
1. Those affected by the decision to move the headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there is no office space for them in Abuja. It was ill-advised in the first place to move the headquarters to Abuja when there was no single FAAN building in Abuja to accommodate all of them at once.
2. Having returned to Lagos, the Authority would be liable to pay them DTA (Duty Tour Allowance) because technically they are working Out of station as their official posting is to ABUJA. Toe Minister has decided to stop this waste of public resources and rip-off on the public purse.
3. The other option open to the Authority was abandon the old FAAN building in Lagos to rot away and to use its scarce resources to rent an office space in Abuja for Millions of Naira of public money when in actual fact more than sixty per cent of its activities are in Lagos given the huge passenger volume of the Lagos airports. The stakeholders and the Minister decided against that and to save the country this waste.
4. The Minister has rolled out plans to get concessionaires to build befitting offices for the Authority in Lagos and Abuja and until that is done, the Authority will continue to manage its old building in Lagos that can accommodate all its Directors and senior officials for now.
5. Abuja continues to have full operational offices and the Authority has not scaled down operations in Abuja one bit. It is just the technical decision of where the Authority has its ‘corporate headquarters’ that has been taken without affecting the structure of operations as they are for now in both cities.
6. In the near future, when befitting corporate buildings have been built for the Authority in both Lagos and Abuja, a final decision will be taken as to the location of the permanent headquarters, depending on the exigencies of the time.
7. The Authority wishes to assure members of the public that it will continue to act in the best interest of the public and the country.
8. The Honourable Minister is committed to taking decisions that are in the best interest of the country, especially as it concerns public funds and will not yield to ethnic or sectional sentiments that will derail this commitment.
