Gombe State Government claimed that it has so far spent over N11b on its Airport which was recently taken over by the Federal Government so that it could serve dual purposes of commercial and military use.

The disclosure was made by the State Commissioner of Finance Muhammad Magaji while briefing Journalists during the breakdown of the approved 2023 budget recently signed into law by the Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.

The Commissioner said that, “It is a 3.5-3.6Km runway airport. It was built based on international standards; it was an expensive venture. So, of course, if the Federal Government is taking it, it is only fair for the Federal Government to reimburse the state government for the amount it has spent in erecting the airport that is why you see the N10 billion captured.”

Muhammad Magaji also said that it is only fair for the Federal Government to reimburse the State the amount due to its spending in bringing the facility to international standards which attracted it to take over the airport.

The Commissioner explained that the amount was captured under the comparative analysis of 2022/2023 capital receipts, where the Federal Government is expected to make reimbursement of the sum of N10bn which represents 11.4 percent of the total capital receipt.

He further explained that “There is a Federal Government policy to take over airports from state governments across the country because airports are also termed as security assets that are in the exclusive lists in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

This, according to him, is “because we do not only use them for commercial reasons, they are also used for military purposes and because of the strategic nature of Gombe, placed at the center of North-East with an Airforce tactical Base, the Federal Government felt the need to take over the Gombe Airport.”

Recall that the State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya had proposed to the State House of Assembly, the sum of N173.6 billion for the 2023 budget, but later signed the sum of N176 billion as adjusted and approved by Assembly.

Muhammad Magaji explained during the breakdown that the increment displayed the beauty of democracy, saying, “The executive did its bit and submitted to the Legislature. The Legislature has the power to determine the size of the budget, which it did.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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