News

Obi Slams Tinubu Over ₦712bn Lagos Airport Renovation

ByTitilope Adako

PublishedAugust 6, 2025

Labour Party Presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for approving a ₦712.3 billion renovation project for Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at a time millions of Nigerians are grappling with severe hunger.

In a statement on Wednesday, Obi described the allocation as “profoundly troubling,” accusing the government of prioritising infrastructure over the well-being of citizens.

“It is profoundly troubling that at a time when millions of Nigerians are facing the crushing burden of hunger, the Federal Government has chosen to approve a staggering ₦712.3 billion—not to feed its people, not to lift them out of hardship, and not to invest in their well-being, but to renovate an airport. This raises a fundamental and urgent question: Where are our national priorities?” Obi said.

Citing a recent United Nations report warning that 34 million Nigerians risk hunger in August, the former Anambra governor said the decision reflects a misplacement of priorities.

“This is not just an abstract statistic. It speaks of real people—our parents, children, neighbours, and friends—who are going to bed hungry and waking up without hope of a meal,” he added.

Obi also recalled Nigeria’s $500 million loan from China Exim Bank in 2013 for the upgrade of five international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu, questioning why an even larger sum is now being allocated to a single airport.

“If that massive investment was made barely a decade ago, what justifies an even larger sum today for just one airport—especially at a time when Nigerians are starving, internally displaced, and desperate?”

He stressed that national resources should first address hunger, health, education, and security before “grandiose infrastructure projects,” adding, “A government that builds grandiose infrastructure while its people starve is not building a nation – it is betraying one.”

Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, however, defended the project, saying the budget was modest compared to what other African countries spend on similar renovations.

Titilope Adako

Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.