House Approves N100.5bn Reimbursement for Yobe Airport

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The House of Representatives has approved a N100.5 billion promissory note programme to reimburse the Yobe State Government for the construction of the Muhammadu Buhari International Cargo Airport in Damaturu, following the federal government’s decision to take over the facility.

The approved sum of N100,509,017,234.55 was granted on Wednesday after the House considered a report submitted by its Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management.

Speaking with journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja, the committee’s chairman, Abubakar Hassan Nalaraba, said members conducted due diligence and carried out an inspection of the airport before recommending the reimbursement.

He explained that officials of the Federal Ministries of Aviation and Finance as well as other relevant government agencies, provided technical assessments and supporting documents for the project.

Nalaraba said the committee approved the reimbursement after reviewing the findings of its oversight exercise and receiving technical reports from the Ministries of Aviation and Finance, alongside relevant accounting authorities.

According to him, the committee was satisfied with the quality of the airport’s infrastructure and equipment, adding that professionals who assessed the facilities certified them as meeting the required standards.

The committee’s report disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Aviation had inspected the completed airport and confirmed that the quality of construction complied with the standards required for the federal government to assume ownership of the facility.

It further established that the Yobe State Government had settled payments due to the contractors responsible for executing the project, while the Bureau of Public Procurement confirmed that the procurement process complied with the relevant requirements.

In arriving at its recommendation, the committee examined documents and submissions from the Yobe State Government, the Federal Ministries of Finance and Aviation, the Federal Executive Council and the Bureau of Public Procurement.

The documents reviewed included contract agreements, certificates of completion, evidence of payments to contractors, due-process compliance reviews and the Bureau of Public Procurement’s certificate of no objection.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had earlier sought the National Assembly’s approval for the promissory note programme in a communication read on the floor of the House on October 13, 2026.

The request was made in accordance with the Debt Management Office (Establishment) Act, 2003, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, which require legislative approval for the programme.

Promissory note programmes are instruments used by the federal government to settle outstanding verified liabilities, including reimbursements to state governments that execute projects on behalf of the federal authorities.

Speaking on the potential economic benefits of the airport, Nalaraba said the facility would provide additional value to the people of Yobe State and help attract investments to the state and the country.

He noted that the construction of critical infrastructure in a state could improve the welfare of residents while creating opportunities for economic growth and investment.

Also speaking, a member of the committee representing Yobe State, Mohammed Jajere, said the airport had the potential to become a major cargo hub for the North-East, particularly for the transportation of agricultural produce and raw materials.

Jajere described Yobe as an agrarian state with abundant agricultural products and raw materials, expressing optimism that the cargo airport would provide an important transportation link for the region.

He added that the facility could facilitate the movement of agricultural produce from the North-East to other markets, thereby improving access to buyers and supporting economic activities across the region.

However, journalists questioned the commercial viability of airports in Nigeria, citing a report attributed to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) which indicated that only three of the country’s 22 domestic and international airports were commercially viable.

In response, Nalaraba said the committee based its recommendation on the technical assessments conducted by the relevant aviation authorities, noting that lawmakers relied on the expertise of professionals to evaluate the operational prospects of the facility.

He maintained that officials of the Ministry of Aviation and FAAN had inspected the airport and certified it as viable and ready for commercial operations.

The committee chairman further stressed that the project had undergone the necessary administrative and technical assessments before the reimbursement request was presented to the National Assembly for consideration.

Nalaraba also clarified that the approved amount was not new funding for the construction of the airport but a reimbursement to the Yobe State Government for expenditure already incurred on a project the federal government had decided to take over.

He explained that the money had already been spent on the construction of the international cargo airport, describing the proposed payment as a repayment to the state rather than fresh funding for the project.

The committee chairman added that Yobe State had undertaken the construction despite aviation being a matter within the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the federal government.

Addressing concerns about the possibility of additional financial obligations arising from the project, the committee indicated the federal government’s takeover would transfer responsibility for the airport, including its future maintenance and development, to the federal authorities.

The committee also indicated that the reimbursement would be made as a one-off payment, although details of the specific payment arrangements were not fully disclosed during the briefing.

With the approval, attention is expected to shift to the federal government’s management of the airport and its capacity to attract sufficient commercial activity to justify the public investment, particularly through the transportation of agricultural produce and other cargo from the North-East.