₦15 Billion Nasarawa Airport Abandoned, Becomes Another National Waste

• ₦15bn Lafia Airport lies unused after handover
• FAAN yet to begin full operations at the facility
• Locals and analysts call project a wasted investment

The ₦15 billion Lafia Airport in Nasarawa, once touted as a game changer, now lies deserted a glaring symbol of Nigeria’s abandoned projects.

According to findings by Eko Hot Blog, what was once hailed as a strategic investment under former President Muhammadu Buhari has now been reduced to an idle stretch of runway and concrete. The Lafia Cargo Airport, built at the cost of ₦15 billion, now sits largely unused, with no clear future in sight.

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The airport commissioned in 2023 is the latest in a long list of white elephant projects scattered across Nigeria. Despite its completion and formal handover to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the facility has failed to attract regular flights or serve any meaningful economic purpose to the region.

Built to promote agricultural exports and improve connectivity in the North-Central state, the project now raises fresh concerns about planning failures, political motivation, and a lack of sustainable strategy behind major public infrastructure. The investigation reveals that the terminal is empty, the runway inactive, and there are no staff on-site to manage operations.

A source close to FAAN disclosed that there’s been “no operational direction or mandate since the handover,” leaving the structure to gather dust. Locals have also expressed disappointment, saying the airport project gave them hope for jobs, trade, and better access to other parts of the country hopes that have since been dashed.

Analysts believe that political grandstanding may have played a stronger role than actual economic planning. The state government is reportedly trying to initiate talks with private airlines, but there’s little confidence anything will change without serious federal involvement or a clear business model.

This revelation throws light on a much bigger problem: Nigeria’s chronic inability to maintain and utilize its costly infrastructure investments. Without reform, experts warn, more multimillion-naira projects may end up in the same unfortunate category money spent, but nothing gained.

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