Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo has defended the Federal Government’s controversial plan to demolish and rebuild Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos at a cost of ₦712 billion, saying it is a strategic investment to meet global aviation standards and attract more international airlines.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Keyamo described the terminal — built in the late 1970s — as “decrepit” and “smelly,” with leaking roofs, collapsing ceilings, outdated baggage carousels, and makeshift kiosks selling food.
“The roof of the airport is leaking; the place is decrepit and smelly… The carousels are not working because their parts are not in the market anymore,” he said.
Critics have slammed the project as a misplacement of priorities, especially amid soaring inflation, hunger, and economic hardship triggered by fuel subsidy removal and naira floatation. But Keyamo stressed that the ₦712bn will come from the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund, not the regular budget, and is part of Tinubu’s pledge to reinvest savings from subsidy removal into major infrastructure projects.
“This is not a budgetary expenditure. It is from a special infrastructure fund… Without this, some international airlines will threaten to stop flights to Nigeria because poor terminals affect their insurance costs and safety assessments,” he said.
Keyamo explained that the project — expected to take 22 months — will completely demolish Terminal One except for its pillars and structural carcass, which will be redesigned to rival top African hubs like Addis Ababa and Johannesburg.
Currently, Lagos is unable to function as a proper connecting hub for West Africa because passengers cannot seamlessly transfer between local and international flights.
“When the airport was designed in the late 1970s, the idea was to make Lagos a hub. That never happened. What we are doing now will finally make Lagos competitive on the continent,” he said.
If you’d like, I can also prepare a before-and-after visual concept showing how the rebuilt Lagos MMIA Terminal One might look compared to the current one.
Do you want me to do that?
