Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has called on former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to publicly apologise to airport officials and pay a ₦25,000 fine over an alleged traffic violation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Keyamo said his decision followed an internal investigation into Obi’s recent claim that the tyres of his vehicle were unjustly clamped at the airport as part of what he described as a persecution campaign by the Federal Government.
According to the minister, the investigation was ordered to establish the facts surrounding the incident, stressing that every Nigerian deserves fair treatment regardless of political affiliation.
“As the Minister of Aviation, I felt a moral duty to investigate and authenticate the claim made by opposition candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, a few days ago that the tyres of his car were ‘unjustly’ clamped at the airport, suggesting a ‘persecution agenda’ against him by the Federal Government. Politics aside, every Nigerian is entitled to fair treatment under the law,” Keyamo said.
He explained that the airport’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) system captured the entire sequence of events, which he said contradicted Obi’s allegations.
According to the minister, the footage showed that Obi arrived at the domestic wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 8:28 p.m. on July 4, 2026, in a vehicle driven by a police officer. After dropping off Obi and two other occupants, the driver allegedly parked the vehicle in a designated drop-off area and left it unattended while entering the terminal building.
Keyamo said airport regulations require drivers to remain inside their vehicles in the drop-off zone, adding that the vehicle remained unattended for about 30 minutes before airport security officials clamped its tyres.
He further stated that the police officer later returned to the vehicle, contacted Obi by phone and handed the call to an airport manager, after which the vehicle was released without payment of the prescribed penalty.
“It is important to note that the time the vehicle was parked unattended to in that prohibited zone was about 30 minutes, which constitutes a security risk at an airport by global best practices,” the minister said.
Keyamo also dismissed Obi’s claim that other vehicles committed similar offences on the same day, describing the allegation as false.
“What has emerged from this is a clear case of an opposition candidate trying to whip up unnecessary sentiments for a wrong he committed with his driver. The excuse which Mr. Peter Obi gave that there were other offenders too on that day (which is completely false) cannot be an excuse for an individual aspiring to be President of Nigeria. He must live above board,” he stated.
The minister accused the former presidential candidate of attempting to create a false narrative for political advantage, adding that airport authorities had initially treated the matter as a routine enforcement issue.
“This is a matter that was not even mentioned at all by the airport authorities and had been put to rest. But ever determined to milk any situation to score cheap political points, Mr. Peter Obi decided to go on air to render a false narrative,” Keyamo said.
He said CCTV footage of the incident had been attached to his statement for public scrutiny.
Keyamo subsequently demanded that Obi publicly apologise to airport personnel and pay the ₦25,000 penalty for wrongful parking.
“That he tenders an unreserved, public apology to those hardworking, ordinary Nigerian workers at the airport, just doing their jobs dutifully and whom he sought to blackmail as his ‘persecutors’.”
He also demanded “that Mr. Peter Obi voluntarily goes back to the airport and pay the appropriate fine of N25,000 for wrongful parking at the airport for which he used ‘influence peddling’ to bully his way out on that day. He cannot be bigger than the law.”
The minister warned that if Obi fails to comply within one week, he would direct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to take further action in line with its regulations.
