Festus Keyamo: The Man Who Made Nigeria’s Airlines Fly Further, Better and Safer
When President Bola Tinubu took office, Nigeria’s aviation sector teetered on collapse—trapped funds starving foreign carriers, airlines crippled by blacklists, airports crumbling amid fire and fury. Then came Festus Keyamo, the lawyer-warrior sworn in August 21, 2023, facing a $850M debt crisis, court battles over Nigeria Air, and an industry screaming for survival. With a single vow, he ignited hope: to strengthen domestic airlines to conquer international routes. He axed the controversial Nigeria Air project, cleared the massive trapped funds (earning IATA applause), and forced airlines to pay passengers for delays—ending the era of five-hour lounges and cancellations without consequence. Touts vanished from Lagos airport; international carriers relocated to gleaming new terminals. Keyamo’s blitz continued. Secured Air Peace’s historic Heathrow slots after seven barren years. Skyrocketed Nigeria’s ICAO safety score from 70% to a record 91.4%. Unleashed N712B for Lagos terminal rebirth. Cracked the Cape Town Convention blacklist, slashing lease costs. Now Embraer’s Lagos MRO rises, Brazil flights loom, and fuel prices stabilize at N1,800/litre. From antagonism to global acclaim, Keyamo rewrote aviation’s story. He navigated Heathrow reciprocity, rallied teams for ICAO glory. Nigeria’s wings soar—thanks to one minister’s unrelenting drive. Chinedu Eze writes that Keyamo rejuvenated hope with his initiatives and has sustained it with his revitalisation and transformation of the aviation industry
When Bola Tinubu was sworn in as president of Nigeria, there was anxiety in the aviation industry. The industry welcomed the appointment of renowned lawyer Festus Keyamo as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development on August 21, 2023, with relief.
But the cloud of uncertainty did not clear until he started work and declared his goals in tandem with the administration’s renewed hope agenda. He made a key statement that gave hope and brightened the faces of airline operators. He unequivocally stated that his focus was on strengthening domestic airlines because Nigeria ought to have strong carriers with the capacity to operate international services. So, he would do everything possible to make them grow. He also said that while he was not opposed to a national carrier, he believed it would not be funded by the federal government.
By the time he was appointed, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) had sued the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and others to halt the establishment of Nigeria Air, citing issues with the partnership with Ethiopian Airlines and unfair competition. This led to a Federal High Court in Lagos declaring the sale of Nigeria Air as null and void and issuing an injunction against the project.
So, Keyamo revived hope among operators when he said his focus was to support domestic airlines in growing and building capacity, a contrast to the antagonism and cynicism that had prevailed before his takeover. He also moved to protect air travellers by ensuring that airlines fulfilled their responsibilities to their customers and to put an end to the restiveness that often exists between air travellers and airlines, which had given rise to frequent air rage.
Keyamo’s trajectory was summed up on Tuesday when he was recognised as one of Africa’s top four prominent aviators by the International Air Transport Association in Addis Ababa. He was named among the ‘Africa’s Top Four Aviators’ for his strategic policy direction and reforms. Achieving a 91.4% safety oversight score from the International Civil Aviation Organisation, effective administration of the Cape Town Convention and the IDERA framework, which facilitates aircraft financing and protection for creditors and efforts to position Nigeria as a central aviation hub in West Africa.
Key actions taken on assumption of office
When Keyamo assumed office, fire gutted the baggage conveyor areas of the old international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, known as Terminal One. At that time, work on the new terminal, Terminal Two, was completed, but international airlines refused to relocate to the new facility, citing the lack of certain key features.
Keyamo ordered all international airlines to vacate the old terminal and move to the new one, just as he ensured that a critical facility hitherto absent was built in the new structure. And today, the old terminal, which was gutted by fire again recently, is undergoing a comprehensive makeover.
The minister suspended the Nigeria Air project, a critical decision that put an end to oscillation and made it clear that the Tinubu administration had duly empowered its ministers to take decisions that would transform their ministries.
The minister also mandated that from January 2024, regulators must enforce strict compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, including publishing a weekly list of defaulting airlines and mandating a 40-50% rebate on future tickets for affected passengers.
“At times, you say you were waiting for passengers to finish passing through the screening machine. At times, they have finished passing through screening machines. They are waiting in the lounge for five hours, and you cancel your flight,” said Keyamo. “So, you see, after some time, we will start implementing the provisions of the NCAA (Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority) Act. You know, Nigerians don’t know there is compensation for delay.”
The aviation minister added, “If it is an act of God, you cannot pay. But if it is a human fault, the NCAA Act says you will pay. So, for all airline operators, while I have praised and supported you, I will also support Nigerians. You will pay them. After some time, I will put my feet on the ground. Pay them when you delay, cancel their flights.”
The minister also initiated a crackdown on touts and illegal personnel at airports. He established a Special Airport Marshall team for undercover inspection to restore order. Today, the menace of touts at the Lagos airport has significantly reduced. In fact, they are hardly noticed anymore.
But the action taken by the minister and the federal government that drew global attention to the country was the clearing of $850 million in trapped funds owed to international airlines. The foreign airlines had literally cried themselves hoarse. The federal government previously said there was no availability of dollars, prompting Emirates to suspend operations. In fact, a senior executive of Emirates Airlines noted at the time that it was not because Nigeria did not have dollars; rather, they gave to whom they chose.
Nigeria at one time owed the highest amount of trapped funds, which prompted the International Air Transport Association (IATA) officials to meet with the Nigerian government on several occasions. When Nigeria paid the funds, IATA sent a letter of appreciation.
Airport infrastructure and concession
Since Keyamo took over the aviation ministry, construction work has been underway at various airports across the country. In fact, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos has been turned into a construction site. So many changes have taken place that a few weeks ago, a Ugandan social media influencer, Simpo Gladys, did a video upon arrival at the Lagos airport and said she was in Nigeria two years ago and that, between then and now, so much had changed at the airport.
She marvelled at the transformation and noted that even airport workers were behaving better; unlike the last time she came, when some were soliciting money.
She emphasised their professional conduct and how they welcomed her with smiles, saying, “This was evidence of what the minister and his team have done at the airport and other airports under the management of the federal government.”
Last August, Keyamo announced that Terminal One of the Lagos airport would be expanded and modernised, with a 22-month target date for completion, and work has been going on ferociously at the airport.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved N712 billion for the full rehabilitation, upgrade, and modernisation of Terminal One at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and with the recent fire, the minister said that even the structures would be dismantled.
Also, at the Lagos airport, airfield lighting on Runways 18 Left and 36 Right, as well as on taxiways B and C, have been upgraded to CAT 2 LED systems. The Tinubu administration inherited a dilapidated Runway 18R, known as the international runway at the Lagos airport, where work had been ongoing for years, but it is now completely modernised.
In the area of airport concessions, last year, FEC approved concessions for the Akanu Ibiam International Airport and the Port Harcourt International Airport, and a few months ago, the minister presided over the successful handover of the Enugu airport to the concessionaire.
Supporting domestic carriers
Recently, the minister has pushed for the approval of a 30% reduction in debts owed by domestic airlines to agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The president graciously approved. Keyamo had initiated the Fly Nigeria Act, which will enable Nigerians travelling on international routes at government expense to use Nigerian carriers or their partners. The minister has also intervened on the high prices of aviation fuel, which are literally strangulating airlines, forcing them to consider suspending operations. But due to Keyamo’s intervention, meetings were organised between airlines, oil marketers and other stakeholders to mitigate the prices of the product.
It was agreed that aviation fuel could be sold to airlines at N1,760–N1,988 per litre and N1,809–N2,037 per litre in Lagos and Abuja.
Keyamo achieved a milestone when he secured a landmark Heathrow Airport slot for Air Peace in August 2024 through intense diplomatic negotiations. Before that, credit must be given to him for his last efforts to ensure that Air Peace began flight service to Gatwick Airport, London. The airline was pushing, and its efforts were being repudiated until Keyamo was appointed as Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
For seven years, no Nigerian airline had reciprocity flights to London, while British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were and still are clocking 21 flights a week. But in March, 2024, seven months after he was appointed minister, Air Peace launched its inaugural flight to London.
On the Abuja-Heathrow, London flight operated by Air Peace, Keyamo engaged the UK authorities, and in October 2025, the Nigerian leading airline began flights to London Heathrow from Abuja. Keyamo has decided to help airlines build capacity to stem the high failure rate among local carriers and provide them with the necessary government support.
During the inaugural flight to London Heathrow from Lagos in March 2024, the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, stated, “I thank the president and his team. We are being supported. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation, went with us to the UK when they were almost frustrating us with slot allocation. He warned them that if they didn’t allow Air Peace to operate, they would retaliate, and this helped. Today he is here.
“They have given us that support. We have the minister of aviation, the minister of trade and industry, and the minister of foreign affairs on this flight. Nigerian government officials are on this flight. This is a Nigerian project. This is what I have been clamouring for. The Nigerian government and people have shown that this is a Nigerian project.”
Removing Nigerian airlines from lessors’ blacklist
Before the present administration, lessors had blacklisted Nigerian airlines due to past actions by some carriers that reneged on leasing agreements. So, lessors quietly blacklisted Nigerian airlines, refused to offer them dry leases, and only allowed wet leases at very high costs. A dry lease is when a lessor gives their aircraft to an airline for a long time, five or more years. The airline is responsible for the crew that operates the aircraft, the aircraft’s insurance, and its maintenance. It comes with lower costs. But on wet lease, the lessor provides the crew, maintenance and insurance and charges the airline exorbitantly, in the Nigerian case.
So, Keyamo removed Nigerian airlines from the global lessors’ blacklist by implementing the Cape Town Convention through the signing of Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA) Advisory Circular. This allowed for a Practice Direction giving primacy to the convention over local laws. This improved Nigeria’s compliance rating initially from 49% to 70.5%, and after the IDERA was signed, it rose to 75.5%. So, the compliance rating was at 49% because Keyamo picked the gauntlet to burnish Nigeria’s image in the international aviation circles.
Nigeria has been a signatory to the Cape Town Convention since 2010, which allows member states to lease aircraft on agreed terms, but lessors shunned Nigerian airlines when some of them began to renege on the leasing terms. With the IDERA signed, the NCAA can instantly deregister an aircraft and enable the lessor to repossess it if the airline that leased it defaults on the terms.
Keyamo has been heavily involved in facilitating the implementation of waivers and easing the financial burden on airlines regarding aircraft parts importation and other levies. The minister worked with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service to ensure the implementation of waivers on import duties and VAT for commercial aircraft, engines and spares.
MRO
When Keyamo was appointed as aviation minister, he vowed that Nigeria would have a befitting Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility capable of maintaining all aircraft in Nigeria’s airlines’ fleet. Last year, the federal government helped Air Peace bring Embraer to build an MRO in Lagos. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Onyema disclosed that while he was negotiating with Embraer, it was taking time, but with the minister’s intervention, who told the president about the project during the official presidential visit to Brazil, Embraer quickly agreed, and on September 17, 2025, a foundation for the project was laid at Lagos airport. The president also facilitated the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA), which designated Air Peace to operate direct flights to Brazil, a service that will start later in the year.
International visibility
Keyamo has kept Nigeria connected to the global aviation community. He facilitated international leasing and financing for Nigerian airlines by enhancing compliance with the Cape Town Convention, hosting the Nigeria Aircraft Acquisition and Investment Summit (NAAIS), and leading delegations to manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing, and ATR. Those interfaces helped the industry to secure new financing windows, enabling high-level talks with global lessors like Aercap and planning a national aircraft leasing company to support local carriers. The federal government, under Keyamo’s guidance, secured new financing windows for Nigerian carriers at meetings in Ireland and through discussions with international financial institutions like Afreximbank.
ICAO rating
Nigeria recently recorded a major breakthrough, emerging with a 91.4 per cent safety score in the 2026 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP-CMA).
Keyamo, who was obviously excited, said, “The International Civil Aviation Organisation today concluded its audit of the Nigerian aviation industry. The last time this audit took place was in 2023. So, this is an audit that takes place every three years. In 2023, Nigeria scored 70%, which is considered very, very low in terms of safety.
“That, of course, affects the rating of our airlines internationally too. Now, after three years of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and this team in place — the DG NCAA (Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority), the MD FAAN (Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the MD NAMA (Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency), and the team — today, the audit was concluded by the International Civil Aviation Organization. And for the first time in the history of Nigeria, since 1960, we have recorded the highest score in terms of safety of the aviation industry in Nigeria.”
He added, “We have recorded 91.4%. This is because of the deliberate policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the support he has given the aviation industry, and the initiatives he has asked us to initiate in the aviation industry. The International Civil Aviation Organisation is very happy with us. And this is a big thank-you to the heads of the agencies.
“The heads of the agencies have been hands-on on this issue. For more than two years, we had a central committee under my leadership. The ministry had to set up a committee for this audit alone because we were not happy with the last scores that we recorded. So, this is out already. This is just to announce and to congratulate ourselves and everybody, even the airlines that were audited. They all contributed to this.”
Supporting the minister’s observation, industry analysts acknowledged that the 70% Effective Implementation (EI) score in the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP-CMA) achieved in 2023 was generally considered mediocre or below average in the context of global aviation standards.
Relationship with foreign airlines
Keyamo has supported foreign airlines operating in Nigeria primarily by creating a stable, enabling operational environment and advocating for reciprocal benefits for the Nigerian economy. Recently, during the celebration of 80 years of Ethiopian Airlines, its management acknowledged that it has been easy to work with Keyamo because he is approachable and acquiesces to requests without much protocol or bureaucracy, as long as the airline meets all the required conditions. So, while the Tinubu administration’s renewed agenda is to empower domestic airlines, it maintains a strong relationship with international carriers.
In his evaluation of the aviation minister, industry analyst and the Executive Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), a think-tank body in the industry, Olu Fidel Ohunayo said, “I would commend him for his efforts and brilliance. He has been able to show that, with his legal background, he was able to get the Cape Town Convention. He was able to navigate through that difficult access to getting Heathrow. Yes, he was able to get us that grandfather right to Heathrow. Although Heathrow is privately owned, there was that reciprocity in the bilateral service agreement. I commend him for his support for local airlines in their push to go internationally and in their local operations. Encouraging them to participate in international activities is commendable.
“I also commend his ability to manage the nuances of the unions effectively, using his background as a lawyer and former civil rights activist. His ability to appear on behalf of Nigeria at international gatherings and interact effectively, instead of going shopping and coming back, is worth noting. His ability to fully interact effectively in these meetings encouraged the aviation community to come and see what Nigeria can offer, hence the huge attendance of the NAAIS summit. He was able to rally his team to work hard, and that helped the country to score an unprecedented 91.4% in the ICAO safety audit. This is also highly commendable.”
Ohunayo added, “But there are areas I need him to look into. His agencies are top-heavy. We were complaining about what was bestowed upon by the former Minister, Hadi Sirika, but alas, he came and expanded that. That area needs to be addressed. The agencies are top-heavy. We need to streamline the top management of the agencies. That will be in tune with the austere measures and cost-cutting in the industry.
“Also, his media team should review what they bring out very well before they make them public, so that there won’t be contradictions and credit should be duly given to whoever it is due. By and large, I must commend the minister because he has done very, very well.”
Keyamo is rated as the minister who has made an unprecedented impact in the aviation industry and whose legacy has put the sector on a new trajectory. Although he still has so much up his sleeve, his invaluable achievements so far have significantly reshaped air transport in Nigeria.
