The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has justified the directive asking the agency to relocate its headquarters to Lagos.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had issued a directive for the relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria`s headquarters from Abuja to Lagos.
In an internal memo dated January 15 2024, FAAN`s Managing Director, Olubunmi Kuku, directed the agency`s Director of Human Resources and Administration to come up with the implications of the relocation order.
The memo read, “The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development has directed that the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria should be relocated from Abuja to Lagos.
In a separate statement issued on Thursday, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN, Obiageli Orah reiterated that relocating the headquarters  was considered to be in the best interest of the authority.
The statement reads in part, “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.
“Having returned to Lagos, the Authority would be liable to pay them DTA (Duty Tour Allowance) because technically they are working out of the station as their official posting is to Abuja.
“The other option open to the authority was to 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 fact more than sixty per cent of its activities are in Lagos given the huge passenger volume of the Lagos airports.
” According to Orah, the minister has unveiled plans to engage concessionaires in constructing suitable offices for FAAN in both Lagos and Abuja.
Orah noted that until this development materialises, FAAN will maintain its management of the existing building in Lagos, which is capable of accommodating all directors and senior officials.