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NIGERIA’s AVIATION INDUSTRY
NEEDS RADICAL OVERHAUL AND
MODERNIZATION
September 2010 Vol. 23: Issue 6
The deplorable state of infrastructure at
both the international and domestic
airports in Nigeria has given rise to a
call by all and sundry for an immediate
radical revamp of the aviation industry.
Last week, for a period of about two
hours, passengers who arrived aboard
various international flights through the
Murtala Mohammed International
Airport(MMIA), Lagos were subjected
to the ordeal of waiting for many hours
for their luggage on account of the
malfunctioning of the conveyor belt. In
the excruciating heat, passengers waited
for hours to claim their luggage after
they had disembarked from the aircraft.
At the same airport a few days earlier,
owing to power outage for about four
hours, flight activities were disrupted.
Undoubtedly, a complete overhaul of
the infrastructure at the nation’s airports
is imperative and long overdue.
Most of the facilities at Nigeria’s
airports are decades old and out of
order. The endemic corruption in
Nigeria is perhaps at the root of the
infrastructural decay evident at the
airports. The airports collects huge
revenue from airlines, passengers, and
©Blackfriars LLP 2010. All rights reserved. This document is for general guidance only. Definitive advice
should be sought from counsel if required. Blackfriars LLP is a Nigerian law firm with a representative
office in Toronto, Canada.
sundry businesses operating within and
around the airports yet the airports are
an eyesore. In fact, concessionaires such
as I-Cube West Africa, Maevis Nigeria
Limited, Pan Express Services Nigeria,
pay significant fees to the Federal
Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
For instance, the Federal Aviation
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had in
2008 engaged the services of I-Cube
West Africa to collect revenues from
users of the access toll of the agreement
that the concessionaire would remit
forty million naira (N40, 000,000.00)
monthly to its account. The agency has
admitted that it cannot much impact
because its responsibilities far outweigh
the funds available to it, owing largely
to the indebtedness of most of its
concessionaires. On their own part too,
some of the concessionaires like Pan
Express Services Nigeria have also
credited their non-delivery to the
indebtedness of the airlines. Assuming it
is true as alleged that some of the
concessionaires or airlines are indebted
to the agency, it should disengage their
services or withdraw their privileges, as
the case may be. Nothing compels the
FAAN from further engaging the
services of the offending concessionaires
in the light of their non-delivery.
However, it must be noted that some of
the concessionaires like I-Cube West
Africa, has been remitting the monthly
amount agreed by the parties. It is then
a case of priorities. In any event, the
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comfort and safety of passengers and

other users of the airports should be of
paramount consideration to avoid a
degeneration of events from delays at
the airports to far worse incidents. In
conclusion, the events stated above
would be a signal to the authorities to
rise up and ensure that infrastructure at
all the airports in the country is
regularly maintained to forestall future
problems.

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Ikechi Mgbeoji

Email: Ikechi@blackfriars-law.com
Tel: +234 1 736 9797
Cell: +234 807 2995 1335
Fax: +1 646 536 8978

Ms. Nkay Onyeaso

Tel: +234 1 739 0397
Cell: +234 808 718 0833
Email: Nkay@blackfriars-law.com
Fax: ++1 646 536 8978

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©Blackfriars LLP 2010. All rights reserved. This document is for general guidance only. Definitive advice
should be sought from counsel if required. Blackfriars LLP is a Nigerian law firm with a representative
office in Toronto, Canada.