Alhaji Abubakar Bibi, a former General Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has asserted that airport toll gates, as one of the authority’s revenue sources, can generate twice the projected N250 million monthly revenue.
His comments come in response to a recent statement by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, who confirmed that the tollgate at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos generates N100 million monthly. Keyamo also set a target of N250 million monthly as part of efforts to optimize FAAN’s revenue generation, announcing that VIPs would now be required to pay toll fees.
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Bibi, who previously served as Airport Manager for Ilorin International Airport, Sokoto, Gombe, and Makurdi Airports before retiring in 2018, stated in an interview with Daily Trust that the N100 million figure disclosed by Keyamo was conservative. He pointed out that as far back as 2011, the tollgate generated over N80 million monthly.
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Bibi firmly believed that the tollgate alone could generate even more substantial revenue. He advocated installing another tollgate at the Oshodi end of the Lagos Airport road.
Only airport users traveling from the domestic end of MMIA or the international wing to the domestic wing pay the toll fee. However, Bibi proposed that every airport user contribute by introducing another tollgate before accessing the international wing.
He explained, “As of 2004, almost 20 years ago when it was around N50 or N100, we normally recorded around N80 million to N90 million. Again, if the minister wants more revenue, that road leads straight to the airport from Oshodi-Isolo near the cargo terminal. In my opinion, there should be a toll gate there.”
Bibi further suggested that adding another tollgate could triple the revenue from the Lagos tollgate, considering the volume of vehicles entering and leaving the airport. He argued that all those areas fall under the airport’s jurisdiction, and there is no reason not to have an additional tollgate before the cargo terminal, ensuring that people traveling from the Isolo side to the airport also contribute.
