Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said that the Nigerian airports lacked WiFi due to a prolonged agency dispute and limited budgetary allocation in 2024.
Keyamo revealed that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had clashed over control.
NAMA argued that WiFi falls under its mandate as it oversees communication and navigation infrastructure at all Nigerian aviation facilities.
Conversely, FAAN insisted WiFi is part of physical airport infrastructure, which falls under its legal jurisdiction by statute and operation.
“This back and forth stalled progress,” Keyamo said on Channels TV, adding that both parties refused to concede until his intervention last year.
The minister said he resolved the conflict by assigning WiFi responsibility solely to NAMA, directing FAAN to withdraw from the project.
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By then, however, the 2024 budget had already passed without provision for airport WiFi infrastructure, delaying any implementation.
According to him, the project has now been captured in the 2025 budget, with plans for deployment starting at Lagos Terminal 2.
“We’ve assigned it to NAMA. It’s in the 2025 budget now. By year-end, you’ll see WiFi in MMIA Terminal 2,” Keyamo assured.
He added that a Public-Private Partnership model is being developed to manage and sustain airport connectivity across the country long-term.
This approach, he said, would reduce public spending while ensuring travelers access essential digital services during airport transits.
Though delayed, the rollout aligns with broader modernization plans meant to enhance efficiency and passenger experience at Nigerian airports.
