The Federal Government has blamed the lack of Wi-Fi at Nigeria’s international airports on inter-agency rivalry between the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

According to him, the dispute stems from ongoing disagreements between the two agencies over who is responsible for providing Wi-Fi services at the airports.

Keyamo said, “It’s a number of factors, but when I came into office, I saw the situation on the ground. And the first situation I tried to solve was an argument between two of my agencies on who was going to take care of Wi-Fi.

“There is an agency called NAMA, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, and they said, ‘Well, if you look at the law of NAMA, it says NAMA is in charge of all navigation equipment, radio, communication, and all.’ So NAMA felt, ‘It’s our responsibility to take care of Wi-Fi.’

“Now, another of my agencies, FAAN, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, was arguing that it is part of the infrastructure at the airport. And FAAN, by law, is imbued with the power to take care of all infrastructure at the airport. So they said, ‘Wi-Fi is part of infrastructure.’’

The Minister noted that the dispute between the agencies dragged on, with both sides exchanging letters until last year when he intervened and directed FAAN to step aside, assigning the responsibility for providing Wi-Fi to NAMA.

He explained that although it is now clear that NAMA is in charge, the delay meant the project was excluded from the 2024 budget and could not be implemented within the current fiscal year.

Keyamo added that the Wi-Fi project has now been included in the 2025 budget, assuring Nigerians that by the end of the year, Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport—which is not currently undergoing upgrades—will have functional Wi-Fi.

He further revealed that the government is exploring a Public-Private Partnership to ensure the successful implementation of the project.

In a related development, the Minister defended the Federal Government’s plan to remodel Terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos at a cost of N712 billion, stating that the move is aimed at bringing the facility up to world-class standards.