Nigeria: Govt Concessions Port Harcourt Airport, Assures Workers of Job Security

What the report says

Nigeria’s federal government has signed a concession deal for the Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo International Airport in Port Harcourt with PH Airport Limited, in a move presented as part of a wider plan to bring private investment into airport infrastructure and improve management at selected airports. The agreement was signed by Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo and PH Airport Limited’s group managing director, Eyo Asuquo, according to Premium Times, which said the signing followed talks with aviation labour unions.

The article says the government assured airport workers that the arrangement would not result in job losses. Before the formal signing, Keyamo met union leaders to address concerns about how the concession could affect staff. Union representative Ben Nnabue said workers’ welfare and job security were central to their review of the deal, and that labour would not back any arrangement seen as harming members’ livelihoods.

PH Airport Limited said it plans to invest in infrastructure, raise operating standards and expand economic activity around the airport. Asuquo said the company sees the airport’s location in the Gulf of Guinea as an advantage for regional commerce and connectivity. The report adds that the Port Harcourt concession follows an earlier Federal Executive Council approval of the airport’s privatization plan, part of a broader aviation reform effort aimed at improving efficiency, commercial viability and non-aeronautical revenue while the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria retains its statutory role.