House Committee Queries FAAN Boss over Alleged Under-Remittance

 

The Managing Director, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, has been queried over alleged under-remittances by the agency into the Federation Account despite huge funds generated by the agency at airports across Nigeria.

The Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nkiruka Onjeocha, who spoke at the budget defence held for agencies in the aviation sector on Thursday was particularly as to why the agency which collects internally generated revenues in dollars still has a deficit budget.

She also queried the reason for under- remittance of naira despite collection of dollar from operators.

Onjeocha said the agency has collected N58.7billion internally generated revenue (IGR) in the 2018 fiscal year and remitted only N1 billion into the Federation Account which she said is under-remittance.

She bemoaned the poor state of infrastructure at some airports, especially the Murtala Mohammed International Airports Lagos and Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State, and mandated the FAAN boss to give airports facelift in the yuletide period.

Dunoma, in his response to the allegation of under-remittance, pointed fingers at state governments.

According to him, state governments that partnered federal government to construct the airports are collecting revenues from these airports.

He assured the committee that his agency has started rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure at Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, in phases.

He promised the committee that the rehabilitation work would soon start at other airports across the country, adding however that the slow pace of work is due to delay in the release of appropriated funds in previous budget.

Threatening to give FAAN zero budgetary allocation in 2019, a technical committee was set up to investigate the issues as well as the huge debt profiles before it can present its 2019 budget.