The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given an updated figure on what the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) spends annually on officials moving back and forth between Abuja and Lagos.

According to him, when he gave a figure of over N400 million naira during his Channels TV interview on Wednesday, he had not been briefed as to the amount FAAN spent last year alone on DTA (Duty Tour Allowance) for the principal officers who travelled back and forth from Lagos to Abuja almost on a daily basis.

Giving the updated figure on Thursday, the Minister disclosed that FAAN spends up to N493,678,620.37 on Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) and N451,058,950.09 on air tickets (making almost N1bn) for its officials because of the headquarters that was moved to Abuja.

Keyamo, therefore, insisted that despite the grievances expressed by some stakeholders, there is no going back on the plan to relocate the FAAN headquarters from Abuja to Lagos in order to save costs and guarantee operational efficiency.

He argued that there are not enough offices in Abuja to accommodate all principal officials of FAAN.

In his words, “When I did my Channels TV interview yesterday, I had not been briefed as to the amount FAAN spent last year alone on DTA (Duty Tour Allowance) for the principal officers who travelled back and forth from Lagos to Abuja almost on a daily basis. The amount came up to N493,678,620.37. This is aside from the air tickets which I mentioned that amounted to N451, 058,950.09.