The Federal Government has approved the concession of the Port Harcourt International Airport to private operators, saying the move will boost efficiency and reduce losses incurred in managing underperforming terminals across the country.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who disclosed this to State House correspondents after Thursday’s Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, also assured aviation workers that the concession would not lead to job losses.

Keyamo stated, “This is a message to the unions: we will engage them. Nobody will lose their job. I’m making this very clear because there has been all kinds of misinformation to the union members. I am pro-union, pro-workers, and I know the kind of pressure they have been putting on me, including people within the system instigating them against these concessions.

“They will not dictate policies of the government. I repeat, no worker will lose his job as a result of concessions.”

According to the minister, the Federal Government had previously struggled to attract interest in the Port Harcourt Airport under the previous administration. However, renewed investor confidence under the Tinubu-led government led to a turnaround.

“Before we came in, Port Harcourt was a no-go area. Almost all the investors shunned Port Harcourt. But since this government came to power, more than six people were scrambling and falling over themselves to get to Port Harcourt. We now have a business case approved,” he said.

Keyamo said the FEC approved all eight memos presented by the Ministry of Aviation. These include the procurement of 15 new firefighting vehicles to be deployed at the country’s five international airports: Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu.

“This is in tune with ICAO standards. The International Civil Aviation Organisation regularly audits our airports to determine whether they meet global standards. One of the key requirements is adequate fire-fighting equipment,” he said.

Also approved was the procurement and installation of tertiary power supply at all airports and 14 Very High Frequency remote stations managed by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency. This, he said, is to ensure uninterrupted support for air navigation systems.

According to Keyamo, the Council also approved the full business case for a biometric verification system at all Nigerian airports.

“Too many anonymous people board aircraft using fake identities. That is not good for national security. With this system, your NIN will be linked to boarding data. We will verify that you are truly the one flying. This meets ICAO standards,” the Minister said.

The Council also approved the construction of a permanent headquarters for NAMA in Abuja, following its relocation from Lagos. Currently, the agency operates from rented facilities in the Federal Capital Territory, the minister explained.

Keyamo further announced that all properties owned by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria in and around airports have been officially excluded from sale to private individuals.

“This is a public announcement to those who purported to have bought airport properties: we will not give those properties to them,” he declared. “Airports are high-security zones. We need quarters for emergency personnel like the fire service and security staff. The President has now approved a memo to that effect,” he explained.

He noted that the previous disposals, carried out by a presidential committee under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had caused longstanding security concerns at several airports.

The Council also approved contracts within the ministry’s 2024 budget for runway and perimeter lighting, to allow late-night operations in select airports. “Some airports close as early as 6 pm because there are no lights for night operations. We want airlines to fly till 10 or 11 pm to increase capacity and revenue,” Keyamo announced.

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The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company has commenced a sweeping retrenchment exercise affecting about 800 employees, even as Nigerians continue to reel under rising inflation, soaring living costs, and erratic power supply.

The mass layoff, which began on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, follows months of internal restructuring at the utility firm, which serves the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Niger, and Nasarawa States.

Multiple sources familiar with the development within the company told our correspondent on Thursday that the management had initially proposed to sack 1,800 workers before reducing the number to 800 after a series of tense negotiations with the National Union of Electricity Employees and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies.

One of the sources, who is an AEDC employee, said the management had initially planned to sack 1,800 workers but reduced the number to 800 after pressure from the unions, which had at first insisted that no employee should be laid off.

“The management wanted to sack 1800, but after much pressure, they brought it down to 800. The unions initially insisted that nobody should be sacked,” the employee, who pleaded not to be named in order not to be victimised, stated.

“The unions first said nobody should be sacked, but later they allegedly agreed to 800. The affected staff were supposed to start receiving their letters from Monday, but it was delayed, and then yesterday, the affected staff started receiving letters,” another source familiar with the development revealed.

A sample of the disengagement letter titled “Notification of Disengagement from Service”, sighted by The PUNCH, dated November 5, 2025, and signed by AEDC’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Adeniyi Adejola, confirmed that the exercise was part of an “ongoing rightsizing process.”

The letter also stated that all affected staff would be paid their due entitlements upon completion of an exit clearance process.

The letter read in part, “We regret to inform you that your services with the company will no longer be required, effective 5th November 2025. This decision follows the outcome of the company’s ongoing rightsizing exercise. Please be assured that this decision was made after careful consideration and in accordance with company policy.

“You are kindly required to complete the Exit Clearance process in your Zone and return any company property in your possession before your final exit to your HR Business Partner. , Completion of these formalities will be required before the processing of your exit payment.

“Please note that applicable deductions, including PAYE, check-off dues, outstanding loans, and unretired advances (if any), will be made in accordance with company policy and relevant statutory provisions. AEDC acknowledges your contributions during your period of service and extends best wishes for success in your future endeavours.”

The mass layoff at AEDC underscores the deepening crisis in Nigeria’s power sector, which continues to face low investment, weak infrastructure, and poor cost recovery despite over a decade of reforms.

Last year, AEDC’s operational licence narrowly escaped regulatory suspension following disputes over payment defaults and management changes, notably in 2021 and 2023. The company, now privately managed, has been under mounting pressure from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to improve service delivery and reduce energy losses.

This new round of job cuts could further strain an already overstretched workforce and deepen customer dissatisfaction, especially in Abuja and surrounding states, where residents have long complained about poor electricity supply and arbitrary billing.

When contacted, the company’s Head of Customer Experience, Kenechukwu Ofili, confirmed the sacking of workers by the power firm. He, however, stated that it was a normal routine exercise. He added that, “a statement would be released. The process is ongoing and is being handled in line with the agreed framework.”

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US forces on Thursday struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from Washington’s controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 70.

The United States began carrying out such strikes which experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers, in early September, taking aim at vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

The US strikes have destroyed at least 18 vessels so far — 17 boats and a semi-submersible — but Washington has yet to make public any concrete evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the United States.

Hegseth released aerial footage on X of the latest strike, which he said took place in international waters like the previous strikes and targeted “a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organisation.”

The video showed a boat travelling through the water before exploding into flames.

“Three male narco-terrorists — who were aboard the vessel — were killed,” Hegseth said, without any further identifying information.

“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs — we will kill you,” he wrote.

Like some previous videos released by the US government, a section of the boat is obfuscated for unspecified reasons.

President Donald Trump’s administration has built up significant forces in Latin America, in what it says is its campaign to stamp out drug trafficking.

So far, it has deployed six Navy ships in the Caribbean, sent F-35 stealth warplanes to Puerto Rico, and ordered the USS Gerald R Ford carrier strike group to the region.

The governments and families of those killed in the US strikes have said many of the dead were civilians — primarily fishermen.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly accused Trump of seeking to oust him.

US bombers have also conducted shows of force near Venezuela, flying over the Caribbean Sea off the country’s coast on at least four occasions since mid-October.

Maduro — who has been indicted on drug charges in the United States — insists there is no drug cultivation in his country, which he says is used as a trafficking route for Colombian cocaine against its will.

The Trump administration has said in a notice to Congress that the United States is engaged in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, describing them as terrorist groups as part of its justification for the strikes.

The United Nations has asked the United States to cease its campaign, with rights chief Volker Turk saying the killings have taken place “in circumstances that find no justification in international law.”

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