National Assembly and the Abuja airport second runway

The news filtered into the country’s aviation sector earlier in the week that the National Assembly was considering the injection of a N15 billion budgetary allocation in the 2017 budget to give room for the immediate commencement of the construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

The N15 billion is contained in the 2017 N7.3 trillion budget expected to be passed once the lawmakers resume from the Easter recess.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, are said to be in talks with the Chairmen of the Committees on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje and Honourable  Bala Dawaki, and the Chairmen of both the senate and house committees on the aviation sector.

The lawmakers attributed their support for the second runway to their resolve to avoid a reoccurrence of the recent total shutdown of the Abuja airport with the subsequent negative implications on airline business and other logistics.

Since the news about the sudden interest of the lawmakers in the second runway broke, different key players in the sector have reacted differently for different reasons.

While some displayed their support for the construction of a second runway for the airport based on its strategic location at the federal capital territory and being at the seat of power, many others have argued that the airport at least for now needs no second runway.

Those opposed to the second runway have hinged their decision on the fact that the level of air traffic at the Abuja airport presently does not require a second runway.

According to a key player in the sector, “What is the air traffic at these airports compared to Gatwick with only one runway but with more traffic than the ones at Lagos and Abuja joined together.”

While the different interest groups are entitled to their opinions on this matter, there are over 1,001 questions on the lips of many stakeholders in the sector as to the sincerity of the motive behind the sudden patriotism being displayed by the lawmakers on the second runway for the Abuja airport.

Those asking these questions have their genuine reasons considering the myriad of challenges confronting the sector which the National Assembly seems less concerned about, except the issue of the second runway.

It is no longer news that the challenges facing the sector range from unfriendly policies, expensive aviation fuel, lopsided Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA), preferential treatment of foreign airlines over domestic carriers, infrastructural decay among several others.

It was therefore amazing to hear that the National Assembly that has not shown much interest in matters affecting the sector suddenly woke up to support the construction of a second runway for Abuja.

The speed with which the lawmakers want the construction of another runway at Abuja according to key players in the sector has been attributed to their personal interest since they spend most of their time in Abuja.

In other words, the move is about their convenience and not about safety or national necessity because majority of the lawmakers make use of the Abuja airport flying into and out of it in their private jets.

While the lawmakers may claim their decision to support the second runway for the airport was genuine, it will be very difficult to convince stakeholders who have continued to express their misgivings about the manner they watch the sector gasping for survival courtesy of lingering challenges.

Many of the country’s airports presently lack safety components such as perimeter fences, CCTV and other safety apparatuses while the domestic airlines are dying one after the other with the lawmakers looking the other way.

It is, however, hoped that the lawmakers will henceforth, treat matters affecting the sector with the same energy they are putting into the issue of the Abuja second runway. The whole world is watching.