Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen has inaugurated an ad hoc committee to investigate and appraise the performance of concessionaires operating federal airport and seaport terminals and related shipping activities between 2006 and 2025.

During the inauguration on Tuesday, Mr Tajudeen said the exercise was rooted in the House’s constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight and safeguard national interest.

Represented by Loari Kwamoti (PDP-Adamawa), the speaker explained that the decision to concession Nigeria’s airports and seaports was aimed at improving efficiency, attracting private-sector investment, and modernising infrastructure.

“Nearly two decades after the commencement of these concession arrangements, it is both timely and imperative for the legislature, as representatives of the Nigerian people, to undertake a comprehensive review of their outcomes.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this exercise is not an attempt to undermine legitimate private sector participation; it is rather an expression of the House’s constitutional mandate to conduct oversight, ensure accountability, and safeguard national interest.

“Nigerians deserve to know whether these concessions have delivered value for money, complied with contractual obligations, enhanced national competitiveness, protected public assets, and contributed meaningfully to economic growth, employment, and revenue generation,” he said.

According to him, the committee’s scope covers an examination of the terms and conditions of concession agreements entered into from 2006 to 2025.

He said that part of the committee’s mandate was also to conduct an assessment of revenue flows, remittances, and other financial benefits accruing to the federal government and its agencies.

The speaker said that another term of reference was the identification of challenges, gaps, and systemic weaknesses within the concession framework and the formulation of clear, practicable recommendations to improve policy, legislation, and future concession arrangements.

Mr Tajudeen expressed the House’s confidence in the integrity, competence, and sense of patriotism of the committee.

He urged the members to carry out the assignment with objectivity, professionalism, and transparency, guided solely by facts, documents, and the overriding national interest.

The committee chair, Rep. Akinlayo Kolawole, said the committee was determined to leave behind a legacy of stronger infrastructure, good governance, improved service delivery, enhanced investor discipline, and the restoration of public confidence in Nigeria’s concession programmes.

He called on members of the committee and all stakeholders to approach the mandate with the highest sense of duty, professionalism, and commitment to national interest.

(NAN)