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 apologise to airport officials and pay a ₦25,000 parking fine over an incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Friday, Keyamo said an internal investigation backed by CCTV footage showed that Obi’s claims of political persecution were not supported by the facts.
According to the minister, the incident occurred on July 4 when Obi arrived at the airport’s domestic terminal.
Keyamo alleged that after Obi got out of the vehicle, his police driver left the car unattended in a designated drop-off zone, which violated airport parking regulations.
He explained that airport security personnel clamped the vehicle after observing it had been abandoned in a restricted area and insisted officials were unaware the vehicle belonged to Obi at the time.
The minister further claimed that after discovering the vehicle had been clamped, Obi’s driver contacted the former Anambra governor, who then spoke with the airport manager to request its release.
According to Keyamo, the vehicle was released without payment of the prescribed ₦25,000 penalty.
He maintained that leaving a vehicle unattended in a restricted airport area for about 30 minutes posed a serious security risk and violated international aviation safety standards.
Keyamo also accused Obi of attempting to gain public sympathy by presenting the incident as political victimisation after the matter had already been resolved.
The minister demanded that Obi publicly apologise to airport workers, whom he said were only carrying out their lawful duties.
He also asked the former governor to voluntarily pay the outstanding parking fine.
Keyamo warned that if Obi fails to comply within seven days, he would direct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take further action.
Source: Statement by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
