President Bola Tinubu has resolved a 20-year-old dispute between Wale Babalakin’s Bi-Courtney and the Federal Government over the concessioning of the local wing of Muritala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
The dispute between the Federal Government and Wale Babalakin’s Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited dates back to the early 2000s, following the concession of the domestic terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
After the original domestic terminal (MMA1) was destroyed by fire in 2000, the FG entered into a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement with Bi-Courtney to finance, construct, and operate a new terminal, now known as MMA2. Under the agreement, Bi-Courtney was granted a concession to manage the terminal for a fixed period, with exclusivity clauses that became a major source of contention.
The conflict escalated when the FG, through aviation authorities, continued to operate the old MMA1 terminal and later reopened it for domestic flights, a move Bi-Courtney argued violated the concession agreement.
Over the years, the disagreement led to multiple legal battles. Efforts by successive administrations to resolve the impasse yielded limited progress until recent moves by the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reach a negotiated settlement, bringing an end to a long-running infrastructure concession dispute.
