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Airport Dispute: Keyamo Demands Obi’s Apology, Payment of N25,000 Fine Within 7 Days
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, a seven-day ultimatum to publicly apologise to airport officials and pay a N25,000 parking violation fine over an incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Friday, Keyamo said findings from an internal investigation, supported by Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage, contradicted Obi’s claim that his vehicle was clamped as an act of political persecution.
According to the minister, the incident occurred on July 4 at about 8:28 p.m. when Obi arrived at the airport’s domestic terminal.
Keyamo alleged that after Obi alighted from the vehicle, his police driver parked in a designated drop-off zone, left the vehicle unattended and proceeded into the terminal, contrary to airport regulations.
He explained that although the driver briefly returned to the vehicle, he left it unattended again, prompting airport security personnel to clamp the vehicle for violating parking rules.
The minister stressed that airport officials were unaware the vehicle belonged to Obi at the time the enforcement action was taken.
He further stated that after discovering the vehicle had been clamped, the driver contacted Obi, who subsequently spoke with the airport manager and requested that the vehicle be released.
According to Keyamo, the vehicle was released without the payment of the prescribed N25,000 penalty.
He maintained that leaving a vehicle unattended for about 30 minutes in a restricted airport zone constituted a serious security breach and violated established aviation safety protocols.
The minister also accused Obi of attempting to politicise the incident by portraying a routine enforcement action as political victimisation, despite the matter having been resolved before his public comments.
Keyamo, therefore, called on the former Anambra State governor to issue an unreserved public apology to airport officials for what he described as unfair allegations against personnel carrying out their lawful duties and to voluntarily pay the outstanding parking fine.
He warned that failure to comply with the demands within seven days would compel him to direct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take further action.