The Labour Party has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to commit ₦712 billion ($475 million) to the renovation of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, describing the move as “outrageous, elitist, and morally bankrupt.”
In a statement issued on Monday by Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, the party accused the APC-led government of “robbing the poor to spoil the rich,” especially in the wake of the hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.
“It is deeply troubling that the APC-led administration is prioritising such an extravagant airport renovation at a time when 63% of Nigerians — approximately 133 million citizens — are classified as multidimensionally poor,” the statement reads.
The party also took aim at the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, who recently disclosed that the ₦712 billion would be drawn from the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund — a pool sourced from savings made since the controversial fuel subsidy removal.
“To withdraw this lifeline from the poor only to channel the proceeds into a luxury terminal accessible exclusively to the rich is a new low in governmental wickedness,” Asogwa stated.
The Labour Party questioned why the Federal Government did not consider a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for the project, noting that airport terminals are typically revenue-generating ventures globally.
“Why not invite private capital, especially when the return on investment is self-sustaining, instead of squandering subsidy savings on an elitist project that benefits a fraction of the population?” the statement queried.
It further argued that most Nigerians, who no longer enjoy basic services such as affordable transportation, healthcare, or food, do not even travel by air, making the scale of the investment both insensitive and imprudent.
The statement also linked the Lagos Airport renovation to what it described as a broader pattern of “fiscal recklessness” by the APC administration, citing the controversial ₦15 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project as another example of misplaced national priorities.
Comparative findings, according to the Labour Party, show that countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe have delivered brand-new airports at lower costs than the proposed renovation.
“This is not just wicked; it is satanic and speaks to a gross disregard for the plight of the masses,” the statement concluded.
The party called on Nigerians to rise in defense of national accountability and reject what it described as an unjust use of public funds.
