The Federal Government’s decision to concession the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, has been presented as a landmark achievement for the South-East. However, an examination of publicly available records and reports raises important questions about the selected concessionaire, Aero Alliance, and whether Nigerians have been given sufficient information about a 30-year agreement involving one of the country’s strategic aviation assets.
The Federal Executive Council approved the concession of the airport in July 2025, while the concession agreement was reportedly executed in January 2026.
However, even after the agreement was signed, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, acknowledged that issues relating to airport security charges and aspects of the financial model were still being resolved.
That disclosure alone raises an obvious question: Why was a long-term concession finalized before key commercial and operational issues had been completely settled?
A Company Barely a Year Old?
Perhaps the most striking issue concerns the concessionaire itself.
According to reports published by Aviation Monitor and information attributed to Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) records, Aero Alliance was incorporated on 16 July 2024, barely one year before the Federal Executive Council approved the concession process.
The reports identify Enwereonu Chukwudi Kester and Okibe Oga Adaji as persons with significant control over the company.
More importantly, Aviation Monitor reported that the company had no publicly established history of managing airports or major aviation infrastructure in Nigeria before being selected for one of the country’s most important airport concessions.
If accurate, this naturally raises questions about the technical evaluation process.
What specific experience qualified Aero Alliance above established airport operators with decades of international experience?
What due diligence was undertaken before awarding a 30-year concession?
These are legitimate public-interest questions that deserve official answers.
Name Similarity Creates Further Confusion
Public searches for “Aero Alliance” immediately produce the internationally recognised Aero Alliance, a joint venture between GE Vernova and Baker Hughes.
That company specialises in repairing aeroderivative gas turbines and operates service centres in the United States, Italy and Malaysia. It is not known as an airport concession operator.
Whether the similarity in names has caused public confusion or is merely coincidental, government has a responsibility to clearly identify the Nigerian Aero Alliance selected for this concession and publicly disclose its qualifications, shareholders, technical partners and financial capacity.
Transparency Cannot Be Optional
Airport concessions are not inherently problematic.
Indeed, many countries successfully use Public-Private Partnerships to improve infrastructure.
However, such concessions succeed only when they are built upon transparency, competitive procurement, proven technical competence and clearly defined public benefits.
At present, many critical details remain unavailable to the public.
Among the questions deserving immediate answers are:
- What is the full value of Aero Alliance’s investment commitment?
- Who are the company’s technical partners?
- What airport management experience do they possess?
- Has Enugu State committed any financial support, guarantees or future obligations?
- What revenue-sharing formula governs the concession?
- What protections exist against excessive user charges?
- What employment guarantees have been provided for existing airport workers?
- What performance benchmarks could trigger sanctions or termination if the concessionaire fails to deliver?
Beyond the Ceremony
Government supporters have described the concession as another major achievement for Enugu.
Perhaps it will become one.
But infrastructure projects should be judged not by ceremonies, press statements or political slogans, but by transparency, execution and measurable outcomes.
For ordinary Enugu residents, the immediate experience has been rising airport access charges and additional fees.
If a concession intended to improve competitiveness instead increases the cost of using the airport, citizens are entitled to ask whether the public interest is being adequately protected.
Akanu Ibiam International Airport belongs to the Nigerian people.
The burden is therefore on government—not critics—to demonstrate that the selected concessionaire possesses the financial strength, technical expertise and governance standards necessary to justify a 30-year control of such an important national asset.
Until the concession agreement, ownership structure, technical qualifications and financial commitments are placed fully in the public domain, this remains less a story of celebration than a test of transparency and accountability.
