FAAN, NCAA excluded from budget
Three projects to gulp N10b
The Federal Government has appropriated N87,309,964,48 to the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and four other agencies in the 2026 appropriation bill sent to the National Assembly last December.
This amount of money is a decline from the N105,953,496,365 appropriated to the sector in 2025 and an increase from the N63,317,450,275 earmarked for the industry in 2024.
Also, three major projects under the supervision of the ministry would gulp about N10 billion, according to the appropriation bill obtained by The Guardian.
The projects are expansion of the existing General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, at the rate of N1 billion; refund of N4 billion to the Kebbi State government on the construction of Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport, Birnin Kebbi; and construction of a corporate headquarters building and staff accommodation for the Federal Ministry of Aviation and its agencies at the sum of N5 billion.
Further breakdown of the N87 billion appropriation bill for the ministry in 2026 revealed that the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development was allocated the sum of N50,646,938,934; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), N11,836,942,378; and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, with N11,281,209,862.
Others on the list are the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) with N7,244,873,309, and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), which was allocated N6,300,000,000 in the 2026 budget proposal.
However, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were, as usual, excepted from the 2026 budget.
The two agencies are regarded as revenue-generating organisations and self-sustaining, while their projects are funded by the government.
NAMA was, for the first time in five years, captured in the country’s annual budget in 2025.
On some of the projects, the appropriation bill marked that the expansion of the existing GAT apron at Kano airport, which would cost the ministry N1 billion, was ‘ongoing’, while the refund of N4 billion to the Kebbi State government on the Birnin Kebbi airport (with the reference number SGF. OP/1/5.3/VIII) was also marked ‘ongoing’.
For the construction of the corporate headquarters building and staff accommodation for the ministry and its agencies, it was also registered as ‘ongoing’.
Meanwhile, the three projects mentioned above were also captured in the 2025 budget with the same amount of money allocated to them.
However, it was not clear if the monies were released to the ministry within the last financial year for them to reappear in the 2026 appropriation bill submitted to the National Assembly.
Besides, the government spent N5 billion for the acquisition of safety and security critical projects and airport certification nationwide, including Category 3 Airfield Lighting (AFL) and disabled aircraft recovery equipment.
The government also budgeted for the construction of Hajj and cargo facilities at Lagos airport at the sum of N300,000,000, while another N800,000,000 was planned for the expansion of the GAT terminal and park at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Also, there were allocations for the rehabilitation of existing aprons at Sam Mbakwe Airport at the sum of N70,000,000 and the purchase of fire trucks for the nation’s airports at the sum of N1,000,000,000.
All the projects mentioned above were marked ‘ongoing’ by the ministry with various reference numbers.
Another major project to be embarked upon in 2026 by the ministry, according to the appropriation bill, was the Aerospace University, Abuja, at the cost of N3,000,000,000.
For the 2025 budget, the sum of N5 billion was earmarked for the Aerospace University project.
The university was part of the government’s plan for eight years of the past administration, with billions of naira expended on the project within the period.
Sen. Hadi Sirika, the immediate past Minister of Aviation, went as far as naming the university African Aviation and Aerospace University (AAAU), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nile University of Nigeria, and promised that it would take off before the end of 2022, as all the needed facilities and personnel, he assured, were on the ground, but this promise never saw the light of day until he left office in May 2023.
Also, on fire trucks, Sirika had, in April 2023, towards the twilight of the Muhammadu Buhari-led government, launched 10 Volkan Lion 6×6 fire-fighting vehicles valued at N12 billion, delivered to FAAN at Lagos airport.
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