Promissory notes would repay the state for Damaturu airport after a federal takeover; lawmakers also receive research and international-law bills.
President Bola Tinubu has asked both chambers of the National Assembly to authorize the issuance of promissory notes worth N100.509 billion to reimburse Yobe State for expenditure on the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Damaturu.
The request follows a decision by the Federal Executive Council to assume ownership of the facility and compensate the state for its construction costs. In his communication to lawmakers, Tinubu said the Bureau of Public Procurement had reviewed the project and recommended N100,509,017,234.55 as the reimbursable amount.
The proposal would be implemented through the federal government’s 70th Promissory Notes Programme, subject to legislative approval. In the Senate, President Godswill Akpabio referred the matter to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and directed it to report within one month.
The House of Representatives also received the request through Speaker Tajudeen Abbas when lawmakers returned from recess. Approval has not yet been reported in the supplied account, and the proposal remains under consideration.
Alongside the financial request, the President transmitted the National Research Development Fund Bill and two measures concerning international humanitarian and criminal law.
The Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols Bill 2026 proposes to update Nigeria’s domestic framework for implementing the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Enforcement Bill 2026 seeks provisions relating to international crimes and cooperation with the court.
Abbas promised that the House would examine the proposals, describing the humanitarian-law measures as significant for the protection of people affected by armed conflict.
The airport request raises broader questions about how the federal government values, assumes and finances state-built infrastructure. Legislative scrutiny will determine whether the proposed amount and repayment structure are accepted.
