Business
Airport Concession: No Job Losses, Minister Assures Avaition Workers
The Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, has assured unions in the aviation industry that the proposed concessioning of the four airports will not lead to job losses.
Sirika gave the assurance at a meeting with the Air Transport Senior Staff Services of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) in Lagos.
The Federal Government had indicated its interest to concession the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt Airports, toward increasing their capacity and efficiency.
Sirika disclosed that this was the first phase, noting that all the 22 airports owned by the Federal Government would be concessioned at the end of the second phase.
He said the meeting was to give the unions the opportunity to become members of the Concession Project Delivery Committee and enable them make inputs to better the process.
According to him, the government’s resolve to concession the airports is aimed at ensuring the establishment and sustenance of world-class standards in infrastructure development and service delivery.
He assured the unions that concession was not tantamount to privatisation or outright sale, explaining that the facilities being concessioned remained the properties of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigeria.
The minister said: “You see government has no plans whatsoever to sell national assets so it is sheer misconception.
“The truth is that government does not have money to invest and even if it could, with the sheer bureaucracy it could take 10 years and Nigerians are tired of what is on ground and want something new.”
He noted that private investors could provide funding for construction of world-class terminals in Nigeria under the build, operate and transfer process which would be beneficial to the country in the near future.
“The vision of the government is engage all stakeholders and people who have a stake in what we are doing, especially on the concessioning of our airports and other things we intend to do,” Sirika said.
He also said two committees had been inaugurated to mid-wife the process, stressing that there would be continuous engagement of stakeholders toward ensuring what was best for the country.
The President of ATSSSAN, Mr Benjamin Okewu, who spoke on behalf of the unions, noted that the unions were not in agreement with the concession of the revenue generating airports.
Okewu, however, agreed that concession done in other climes had resulted to increased revenue, building of infrastructure and other developments.
He also said the unions would meet to deliberate on their membership of the Project Delivery Committee which was extended to them by the minister and thanked him for the gesture.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
