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| Osuofia Dancing to his music, Agreement is Agreement |
Talking of the past, it would appear that airport terminal operator
Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) has had a difficult
experience concerning the concession agreement it signed with the
Federal Government. The anniversary was a fitting time to highlight the
minuses that dampened the celebration.
The company’s chairman, Dr. Wale Babalakin, shed light on the negatives when he spoke to reporters about the government’s contractual infidelity. Babalakin stated: “We got approval since 2007 to operate regional flights from MMA2, but the relevant authorities are
frustrating our efforts. We could trace it to both the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). It is the airlines that are affected, because they burn aviation fuel moving their aircraft from MMA2 to the international terminal. This would not arise if they had allowed us to operate regional flights from MMA2.” He added: “In 2008, the former President Musa Umaru Yar’Adua presided over meetings to resolve all issues about MMA2; despite the directive given by the former president, aviation authorities are yet to honour the concession agreement.”
A report said Babalakin “urged the Federal Government to pay over N200 billion” to BASL “for failing to hand over the old domestic terminal, otherwise known as General Aviation Terminal (GAT), Lagos.” According to the report, “Babalakin said the payment was necessary after BASL was awarded damages by the Federal High Court to the tune of over N132 billion in 2012. He said the amount increased to N200 billion, owing to the revenue the terminal operator would have collected as revenue for flights and other commercial activities at the old domestic terminal.”
It is one thing to unlawfully break a concession agreement; it is
another thing to defy lawful sanctions. The situation is compounded when
the lawfully determined guilty party carries on as if nothing is wrong.
Against this background, it is understandable that Babalakin has taken the matter to the court of public opinion. He said: “We are seeking the assistance of all and sundry for the payment of the N200 billion owed to Bi-Courtney Airways Services by the Federal Government. As far back as 2012, the Federal High Court awarded damages of N132 billion to Bi-Courtney Airways Limited. Six appeals against the judgment in the Court of Appeal have been dismissed. Even the appeal to the Supreme Court was also dismissed. No nation can truly achieve its potential, if it treats its dynamic citizens this way.”
Babalakin continued: “We call on the regulatory authorities to honour the concession agreement, which has been approved by every level of government, including the Presidency and confirmed by all the strata of the courts in Nigeria. This is the only way to reward our pioneering efforts. We are grateful to Allah that our eye opening effort had led to the upgrading of some airports in Nigeria and the decision of the Federal Government to concession airports.”
It is interesting that the government announced plans to concession 22 airports. Considering Bi-Courtney’s experience, it would be interesting to observe the process and the outcome of the agreements. The MMA 2, inaugurated in May 2007 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, prides itself on its status as the first privately funded Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) terminal in Nigeria. MMA2 reportedly handled 20 million passengers and 400, 000 flights in 10 years.
It is noteworthy that in the same week that BASL celebrated the 10th anniversary of MMA 2, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo declared that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) was important and inevitable for the country’s economic growth. Osinbajo said at the Third Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja: “The real challenge is how to efficiently and faithfully implement these great ideas. I think for effective delivery, this partnership with the private sector is undoubtedly the way to go. So, our approach in this respect and other sectors, the delivery unit will invite and work with private sector players in our delivery clusters to deliver on quality and value in all these various sectors. This we will do in all the identified sectors. We will make ourselves accessible to you as much as possible.”
At the same forum, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, played up the newly launched Economy Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), saying that the government would take full advantage of the power of the private sector to get Nigeria out of recession and put it on the path of growth.
It will take much more than words to achieve public-private
partnerships that work; and it is only when such collaborations work
that the country can enjoy the benefits.
Babalakin was a qualified speaker on the problematisation of public-private partnership in the country at last year’s Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, where he shared some of his company’s experiences regarding the Murtala Mohammed Airport Domestic Terminal 2, Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi, and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. His group is controversially enmeshed in disagreements connected with concession agreements with the Federal Government on these particular subjects. It is worth mentioning that, based on his experience, Babalakin listed the drawbacks to public-private partnership in Nigeria: the attitude of the government, lack of respect for sanctity of contracts and the rule of law, lack of investor security, corruption and malice. It goes without saying that any concessionaire faced with these troubles will have nightmares.
There is no question about the documented success of the PPP model in the development of sectors such as energy, mining, transportation and telecommunications in other countries. The PPP approach and the concession concept cannot be reasonably discounted in a modern economy, especially considering reported examples in Western Europe and U.S.A. where private investors are involved in infrastructure development based on concession agreements.
In the final analysis, when a concession agreement generates a disagreement, there may well have been no agreement. The ultimate lessons of the 10th anniversary of MMA2 are: an agreement is an agreement and an agreement should not become a disagreement.
Credit:http://thenationonlineng.net
The company’s chairman, Dr. Wale Babalakin, shed light on the negatives when he spoke to reporters about the government’s contractual infidelity. Babalakin stated: “We got approval since 2007 to operate regional flights from MMA2, but the relevant authorities are
frustrating our efforts. We could trace it to both the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). It is the airlines that are affected, because they burn aviation fuel moving their aircraft from MMA2 to the international terminal. This would not arise if they had allowed us to operate regional flights from MMA2.” He added: “In 2008, the former President Musa Umaru Yar’Adua presided over meetings to resolve all issues about MMA2; despite the directive given by the former president, aviation authorities are yet to honour the concession agreement.”
A report said Babalakin “urged the Federal Government to pay over N200 billion” to BASL “for failing to hand over the old domestic terminal, otherwise known as General Aviation Terminal (GAT), Lagos.” According to the report, “Babalakin said the payment was necessary after BASL was awarded damages by the Federal High Court to the tune of over N132 billion in 2012. He said the amount increased to N200 billion, owing to the revenue the terminal operator would have collected as revenue for flights and other commercial activities at the old domestic terminal.”
Against this background, it is understandable that Babalakin has taken the matter to the court of public opinion. He said: “We are seeking the assistance of all and sundry for the payment of the N200 billion owed to Bi-Courtney Airways Services by the Federal Government. As far back as 2012, the Federal High Court awarded damages of N132 billion to Bi-Courtney Airways Limited. Six appeals against the judgment in the Court of Appeal have been dismissed. Even the appeal to the Supreme Court was also dismissed. No nation can truly achieve its potential, if it treats its dynamic citizens this way.”
Babalakin continued: “We call on the regulatory authorities to honour the concession agreement, which has been approved by every level of government, including the Presidency and confirmed by all the strata of the courts in Nigeria. This is the only way to reward our pioneering efforts. We are grateful to Allah that our eye opening effort had led to the upgrading of some airports in Nigeria and the decision of the Federal Government to concession airports.”
It is interesting that the government announced plans to concession 22 airports. Considering Bi-Courtney’s experience, it would be interesting to observe the process and the outcome of the agreements. The MMA 2, inaugurated in May 2007 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, prides itself on its status as the first privately funded Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) terminal in Nigeria. MMA2 reportedly handled 20 million passengers and 400, 000 flights in 10 years.
It is noteworthy that in the same week that BASL celebrated the 10th anniversary of MMA 2, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo declared that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) was important and inevitable for the country’s economic growth. Osinbajo said at the Third Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja: “The real challenge is how to efficiently and faithfully implement these great ideas. I think for effective delivery, this partnership with the private sector is undoubtedly the way to go. So, our approach in this respect and other sectors, the delivery unit will invite and work with private sector players in our delivery clusters to deliver on quality and value in all these various sectors. This we will do in all the identified sectors. We will make ourselves accessible to you as much as possible.”
At the same forum, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, played up the newly launched Economy Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), saying that the government would take full advantage of the power of the private sector to get Nigeria out of recession and put it on the path of growth.
Babalakin was a qualified speaker on the problematisation of public-private partnership in the country at last year’s Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, where he shared some of his company’s experiences regarding the Murtala Mohammed Airport Domestic Terminal 2, Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi, and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. His group is controversially enmeshed in disagreements connected with concession agreements with the Federal Government on these particular subjects. It is worth mentioning that, based on his experience, Babalakin listed the drawbacks to public-private partnership in Nigeria: the attitude of the government, lack of respect for sanctity of contracts and the rule of law, lack of investor security, corruption and malice. It goes without saying that any concessionaire faced with these troubles will have nightmares.
There is no question about the documented success of the PPP model in the development of sectors such as energy, mining, transportation and telecommunications in other countries. The PPP approach and the concession concept cannot be reasonably discounted in a modern economy, especially considering reported examples in Western Europe and U.S.A. where private investors are involved in infrastructure development based on concession agreements.
In the final analysis, when a concession agreement generates a disagreement, there may well have been no agreement. The ultimate lessons of the 10th anniversary of MMA2 are: an agreement is an agreement and an agreement should not become a disagreement.
Credit:http://thenationonlineng.net
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