Keyamo Exposes How FAAN Officials Spent N1 Billion on Flights, Others in 2023
- The minister of aviation has lamented the outrageous amount of money spent by FAAN officials in the preceding year
- The minister revealed that approximately N1 billion was expended on air tickets and duty tour allowance (DTA)
- He disclosed that these unnecessary expense incurred by the agency is the reason for the relocation from Abuja to Lagos
Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the stock market.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo revealed that approximately N1 billion was spent by Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) staff on air tickets and duty tour allowance (DTA) during their frequent travels between Abuja and Lagos in 2023.
Keyamo had earlier disclosed that the decision to relocate the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria's headquarters back to Lagos underwent thorough consultation.
It would be recalled that the directive to relocate FAAN from Abuja to Lagos has generated a lot of reactions from stakeholders.
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Providing clarification on his X page, Keyamo mentioned that he was recently informed about the substantial sum expended by the agency in 2023 on Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) for the principal officers who frequently commuted between Lagos and Abuja almost daily.
He said:
“The amount came up to N493,678,620.37. This is aside from the air tickets which I mentioned that amounted to N451, 058,950.09. So, in total, because of the insistence on naming Abuja as the headquarters of FAAN (when there are no offices in Abuja to accommodate all the principal officers) FAAN spent close to N1 billion in one year!”
Additionally, the minister stated that the recently appointed management informed him of a situation where, despite the directors being stationed in Abuja, the support staff and the departments subordinate to those directors lacked suitable accommodations and were situated in Lagos.
Keyamo emphasized that given FAAN's customer-centric nature, it necessitates frequent meetings among staff for decision-making, leading to extensive daily travel between Lagos and Abuja.
He highlighted that the absence of digitization within FAAN further exacerbates this situation.
Often, the constant commuting arises from the need for seemingly routine tasks, such as obtaining a simple signature or a specific document, due to the non-digitized workflow within the organization.
Remember that the headquarters of FAAN was initially located in Lagos until the former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, directed its relocation to Abuja in 2020.
FAAN denies MD spent N200m on official vehicle
In related news, Legit.ng reported that FAAN has dismissed claims that the recently designated managing director, Kabir Yusuf Muhammed, utilised more than N200 million to acquire a fresh official vehicle.
Mohammed was appointed as the new MD of FAAN in May 2023 after the then-president, Mohammed Buhari, removed the then-MD, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, and five agency directors.
It would be recalled that a particular news platform reported that Muhammad engaged in the questionable acquisition while airports were in dire need of patrol vehicles amid the security threats facing airports across the country.
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Source: Legit.ng
