INVESTIGATION: Commissioned by Buhari, Nasarawa’s ₦15 billion airport joins Nigeria’s white elephant projects

Built on a 1,000-hectare expanse of land, the Lafia Cargo Airport was touted as a transformative project for Nasarawa State’s solid minerals and agricultural sectors. But three years after its grand commissioning, the runway sees no aircraft, the terminal lies silent, and the entire facility stands abandoned, left to rot.

The crumbling perimeter fence, surrounded by overgrown grasses, tells the story of a facility forsaken by humans and now overtaken by rodents and reptiles. This is the tale of the ₦22 billion Lafia Cargo Airport.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the site on a scorching afternoon in January, the plainclothes security officer at the gate appeared startled by the sight of a vehicle approaching—an indication that visits to the airport are far from routine.

This airport is not just another white elephant project; it represents a dashed hope for many who gave up their land in the belief that the airport would transform their lives.

“Of course, I was very excited that November morning in 2015 when His Excellency, Tanko Al-Makura, announced the airport project in Lafia,” said Mohammed Abubakar, a trader living less than a kilometre from the site.

To Mr Abubakar and many others in surrounding communities who sacrificed their land for the project, the abandoned airport symbolises wasted opportunity and broken promises. The former governor had pledged that the airport would bring jobs and economic growth worth their sacrifice.

On 24 February 2022, Mr Abubakar and his neighbours’ hopes were rekindled when then-President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the airport. However, a PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed that the president commissioned an incomplete facility.

“We were all happy about the development. That land belonged to us. I owned about seven hectares of it. We wanted development for our community and looked forward to the job opportunities the cargo airport would bring for our children,” the 63-year-old Mr Abubakar told PREMIUM TIMES. “It has been 11 years since the project was conceived and three years since the commissioning, yet the airport remains in a sorry state.”

The question on everyone’s lips: Why is the airport abandoned?

To answer that, PREMIUM TIMES visited the airport multiple times between January and July 2025 to assess its current status. We also accessed and reviewed public and private records to evaluate the financial elements of the airport project.

Background

In 2015, the administration of then-Governor Al-Makura signed an agreement with a Chinese firm, Tongyi Group Engineering, to construct the airport under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The firm was to provide 75 per cent of the total project cost.

However, the procurement process was mired in allegations of opacity, with the government failing to disclose the contract’s terms. Less than a year after the project began, the state government terminated the contract without explanation. It remains unclear how much the government paid or how much the firm invested.

PREMIUM TIMES submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the state government for the contract details, and a similar request was sent to the Chinese firm.

The state government ignored the request in violation of the FOI Act. However, Tongyi Group, through its solicitors, responded, stating that the contract had been terminated on 10 November 2016 and therefore declined to provide further details.

“We are solicitors to Tongyi Group Limited, hereafter referred to as our client. The contract awarded to our client by the Nasarawa State Government for the construction of the Lafia Airport was terminated on 10th November 2016,” said Ali Akaba & Co, solicitors to Tongyi Group.

PREMIUM TIMES later discovered that the project had been re-awarded to Triacta Nigeria Limited, the same company responsible for the controversial Gusau International Airport. Again, the state government failed to disclose contract details or costs.

PREMIUM TIMES sent an FOI request to Triacta, requesting documentation on funding, contract agreements, and project scope. The company responded with a letter detailing its role in the project. It indicated that it had been fully paid for the contract and had completed the project.

According to Triacta, the initial contract was worth ₦6.45 billion for the construction of a 2.2km x 45m runway, a 150m x 30m taxiway, a 70m x 70m apron, access road and parking, crash road, and full perimeter fencing. However, the response made no mention of the previous contractor’s contributions.

After Mr Al-Makura left office in 2019, his successor, Abdullahi Sule, continued the project. The document shared with PREMIUM TIMES shows that Governor Sule revised the contract value from ₦6.5 billion to ₦11 billion, citing the inclusion of additional features not covered in the initial agreement.

These new additions included paved shoulders for the runway, taxiway, and apron, an expanded 150m x 150m concrete apron, and runway strip grading. These adjustments were made on 4 January 2022, barely 40 days before President Buhari commissioned the airport.

In its response to PREMIUM TIMES, Triacta said the additional works awarded in January 2022 were completed except for the wearing course, which was to be executed after the installation of the lighting ducts and was not part of Triacta’s scope of work. 

The firm also said the upward review of the contract sum was due to Nigeria’s persistent inflation and rising costs of key materials like diesel and bitumen. 

How much did the government spend?

Despite repeated inquiries, the state government has refused to disclose the total cost of the project. In the absence of an official response, PREMIUM TIMES reviewed Nasarawa State’s budgets from 2016 to 2024.

The review revealed that the state government allocated billions of naira to the airport project.

The budgets show allocations of ₦5 billion each in 2015, 2016, and 2017 (totalling ₦15 billion), and ₦4 billion each in 2018 and 2019. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, the government allocated ₦1 billion, ₦35 million, and ₦900 million, respectively.

Tracing actual releases, PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that ₦15 billion had been disbursed for the abandoned project. 

The control tower remains unfinished. The cargo section is partially damaged, and the nearby firefighting station has also deteriorated due to disuse and possible substandard construction.

Bailed out by the federal government

President Buhari not only commissioned an incomplete airport but also initiated steps for the federal government to assume control.

Under Nigeria’s constitution, airports fall under the exclusive legislative list —meaning that even when built by state governments, they are expected to be taken over and managed by the federal government, which reimburses the state.

In 2024, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to reimburse Nasarawa State ₦9 billion. However, since the takeover, the airport has remained unused.

Wada Yahaya, Nasarawa’s former Commissioner for Works, Housing, and Transport, admitted that substantial work was needed before the facility could become operational.

“Plans are underway to extend the runway and address other outstanding areas before the federal government can fully take over,” Mr Yahaya told PREMIUM TIMES via phone.

Yet, Mr Al-Makura insists the airport was “over 90 per cent” completed before he left office.

“The airport was over 90 per cent completed in 2019. The remaining 10 per cent involved the control tower and air traffic services,” he told PREMIUM TIMES. “The airport has been used occasionally for official functions.”

He also promised to provide documentation to back his claims, but failed to honour a scheduled interview.

PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development but was redirected by spokesperson Odutayo Oluseyi to the Director of Air Transport Management—a move that appears evasive, considering the spokesperson’s mandate covers the entire ministry. Repeated visits to the office of the Director of Air Transport Management did not yield any positive outcome, as the director was said to have travelled. An official of the department, Lar Jimam, who promised to set up an interview with the director, later stopped responding to calls from this reporter.

The Trend of State-Built Airports

Across Nigeria, state governments have increasingly invested in airport projects. In the last decade alone, several states built airports, many of which now lie dormant.

These include Muhammadu Buhari Airport (Ebonyi), Akwa Ibom Airport (Uyo), Bayelsa International Airport, Ogun Cargo Airport, MKO Abiola International Airport (Osun), Ekiti Cargo Airport, Anambra Cargo Airport (Umuleri), Abia Airport, Wachakal Airport (Damaturu), and Dutse International Airport.

Others include Gusau Airport, Zamfara Airport, the proposed Auchi Airport, and Gombe Airport. Nigeria currently has about 32 airports.

A Nairametrics report revealed that, in 2022, five airports served 89.7 per cent of Nigeria’s 16 million air passengers. The remaining 27 airports served just 10.3 per cent of the passengers.

The major airports are: Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Lagos), Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (Abuja), Port Harcourt International Airport, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, and Akanu Ibiam International Airport (Enugu).

The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, recently raised concerns about the proliferation of airports, calling them financial burdens.

“Some airports barely receive one or two flights a week—sometimes only executive flights. We must find a way to address this, as it also strains NCAA resources,” he warned.

Beyond questions of viability, many state airports face allegations of corruption and misplaced priorities. For instance, Zamfara’s airport was reportedly used to smuggle gold out of the state. In 2021, the federal government imposed a no-fly zone over Zamfara to curb a suspected “gold-for-arms” trade.

Experts say most airports ultimately serve state governors and a few elites who use them as personal airstrips.

Railway as a viable alternative

In 2023, former President Buhari signed constitutional amendments that moved railway development from the exclusive to the concurrent legislative list, allowing states to invest in rail infrastructure.

Yet, three years later, very few states have taken advantage of this shift.

Experts argue that while rail is more capital-intensive, it is a more viable and inclusive mode of transport than airports