WorldStage– The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has dismissed allegations that it squandered ₦7.58 billion on Category 3 (CAT III) Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) for the nation’s premier airports in Lagos and Abuja.
The agency clarified that the actual cost of the contract was ₦1.18 billion and maintained that recent equipment modifications were executed strictly in compliance with international airspace safety protocols.
The clearance follows media reports alleging that the vital navigational equipment, which was acquired to facilitate aircraft landings during severe low-visibility conditions like the harmattan season, had been abandoned and left to rot.
In a detailed explanatory statement issued by Abdullahi Musa, NAMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, the agency debunked the ₦7.58 billion figure.
NAMA explained that the widely circulated sum originated from an unofficial 2019 newspaper estimate and that speculative media reports had simply extrapolated an assumed cost of $3 million per runway across seven domestic airports, rather than reflecting any approved contract or actual expenditure recorded by NAMA.
Setting the record straight, NAMA disclosed that the actual contract for the supply and installation of the CAT III-capable ILS and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja was precisely ₦1,188,139,913.90.
The contract was legally awarded to Alolis Geo-Science Nigeria Limited, representing Leonardo SPA, following rigorous approvals from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Addressing the operational status of the equipment, Mrs. Teresa Ihenachor, NAMA’s Director of Safety, Electronic and Engineering Services, clarified that the deactivation of the Lagos equipment was purely a safety intervention.
The system had suffered persistent unserviceability and technical glitches from the onset, eventually prompting safety concerns from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) regarding the transmission of misleading parameters to aircraft.
NAMA emphasized that choosing to downgrade or replace safety-critical equipment when its technical integrity becomes questionable is an act of responsible airspace management rather than an abandonment of duty.
The agency reiterated its unwavering commitment to transparency and the total protection of the flying public, reaffirming that it will never compromise safety standards to preserve a failing investment.
