By Chinelo Obogo, [email protected]
Days before the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which held on Wednesday, May 29, ministers had to give account of their stewardship, elaborating on what they have achieved since their appointment. For the minister of aviation, Festus Keyamo, who was appointed in August 2023, his team rolled out a list of his achievements which they said conformed with his five point agenda; strict compliance with national laws, regulations and international operations, improvement and development of infrastructure for passenger convenience, support of the growth and sustenance of local airline businesses, human capacity development and optimisation of revenue generation.
Daily Sun fact-checked the list of accomplishments released by the minister’s media team and it showed inaccuracies and some clearly misleading claims.
Claim one: Two weeks into his tenure, the minister successfully resolved the protracted land dispute with the settlers that had stalled the commencement of the construction of the Abuja second runway, despite an initial deposit made by the previous administration over a year before the the current administration came onboard. The contractors immediately moved to site and the work has commenced in earnest.
Fact: The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in March 2022, approved a second runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, which was planned to be completed and commissioned by June 2023. But this was not to be as the Jiwa community, which hosts the runway, were protesting their eviction from their ancestral land and demanded compensation from government.
According to the traditional ruler of the community, Idris Musa, the immediate past aviation ministry and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), made some effort in resolving the dispute. The aviation ministry hired a consultant to negotiate the compensation which it didn’t have the right to do, while the FCTA was an observer. At some point, the consultant agreed that the community would be paid N2.5m per hectare but new the FCTA said the aviation ministry had no right to negotiate compensation as it was within the jurisdiction of the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike.
At one of the parleys, the aviation minister, Keyamo admitted that the ministry erred in the past by dabbling into issues outside its jurisdiction as it was not the business of aviation to assess compensation in matters of land in the FCT. He said his ministry overstepped their authority in the initial offer but promised additional support beyond legal compensation. By August however, the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, had taken charge of the entire process, acknowledging the community’s concerns and agreed that the FCTA will pay a total of N825.82 million for compensation and resettlement. He also said the community will receive additional benefits like job opportunities (12 from aviation ministry and 10 from FCTA).
Conclusion: Partly true. The federal government resolved the land dispute involving the Jiwa community over the second Abuja airport runway, but the resolution was spearheaded by the minister of the FCT as it was constitutionally under the jurisdiction of the FCTA.
Claim two: Within a month in office, the minister ordered all international airlines to relocate to the new international terminal in Lagos, making it fully operational. He found immediate solutions to the design flaws in the facility that had previously rendered the terminal unusable for many international flights.
Fact: Keyamo had on August 30, 2023, directed the management of FAAN to ensure the relocation of foreign airlines from the old terminal to the new aerodrome, which was commissioned in 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari. He gave the Authority till October 1, 2023, to relocate all flight operations to the new international terminal and vacate the old terminal for rehabilitation.
On September 8, 2023, FAAN relocated the international airlines from the old terminal to the new one, citing the fire incident that razed a part of the old terminal for its action. But shortly afterwards, the Authority reopened the D-wing of the international terminal of the airport, affirming that the relocation of the airlines back to the old terminal received the approval of Keyamo and that the use of the old terminal would complement the new terminal.
Conclusion: True. Though the aviation minister gave the order for the relocation of international airlines to the new terminal, some airlines have returned to the old terminal due to space constraints.
Claim three: In partnership with the immigration service, the aviation minister expedited and supervised the remodeling of the Arrival Hall of Wing E, at the Lagos International Airport into a brand-new facility through a Public-Private Partnership.
Fact: NNPC-ShellNPECo and Co-venture Partners, in collaboration with the Nigerian Immigration Services, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Interior, were responsible for the funding of the remodeled clearance counters and refurbished Arrival E Lounge of the International Airport in Lagos. The project was initiated about a year ago by the Comptroller of Immigration, Lagos Airport Command, Adeola Adesokan, and was completed within six weeks through the sponsorship of the NNPC/SNEPCO partnership.
At the unveiling of the renovated and remodeled project in December last year, the Minister of Interior, Dr. Tunji Ojo, the then Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Kabir Mohammed and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, all commended the partnership of NNPC/SNEPCO and NIS for the renovation of the facility, saying it was a testament to the positive impact achievable when public and private entities come together to promote a good cause. No mention was made of the extent of involvement of the aviation minister in the completion of the project.
Conclusion: False. NNPC-ShellNPECo and Co-venture Partners, in collaboration with the Nigerian Immigration Services, were responsible for the remodeling of the Arrival Hall of Wing E, at the Lagos International Airport.
Claim four: The Minister ensured the swift repair and reactivation of Lagos’ second runway (18R), which had been out of service for nearly a year before assuming office, thereby restricting the busiest airport in the country to the use of only one runway for that period of time.
Fact: FAAN had in March 2023, announced that runways 18R and 36L at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos will be shut down for eight weeks for maintenance. But on Saturday, February 17, 2024, which was 11 months after its closure, the Authority announced the reopening. The reopened runway 18R/36L has a length of 3,900 m (12,794 ft) and a width of 60 m (197 ft). The Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku said they worked closely with the contractor and with the aviation minister and permanent secretary’s support to ensure the completion and reopening of the project.
Conclusion: Partly true. The minister gave some support and played a supervisory role in the repair of the Lagos second runway
Claim five: By working closely with the CBN, the minister ensured the clearance of longstanding backlog of trapped funds for foreign airlines, resolving an issue that had persisted for years.
Fact: The situation with the foreign airlines’ trapped funds in Nigeria had been a challenge and the CBN was at the forefront of efforts to address the issue. During his address at the 10th Annual Aviation Workers Week and Award Night in Abuja, Keyamo said the CBN had met its commitments from forex auctions conducted in the past few years. The original debt to foreign airlines was about $700 million, of which the CBN successfully cleared $136.73 million and the balance, Keyamo said, pertains to transactions foreign airlines conducted with commercial banks. It is still unclear the extent of the minister’s involvement in the clearing of the backlog of trapped funds as it is a well-known fact that it is the CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, who was at front and center of the entire process.
Conclusion: Misleading. The CBN governor spearheaded the resolution of the issue of trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines as it was solely under the jurisdiction of the regulatory body.
Claim six: The minister broke the longstanding monopoly of foreign airlines on the UK-Nigeria route by actively engaging with the UK authorities to grant Air Peace, a local airline, reciprocal operating rights under Nigeria’s Bilateral Air Service Agreement with the UK. This led to a significant reduction in international airfares, benefiting Nigerian travelers.
Fact: Air Peace had received approval to commence London operations during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Daily Sun reliably learned that that besides the formal designation of Air Peace as a flag carrier to London, officials of the aviation ministry did not accompany the airline nor did they liaise with the ministry of foreign affairs to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Bilateral Service Agreement. The airline opted for the TCO audit rather than use a wet lease arrangement.
On the day of the airline’s inaugural flight to London, the aviation minister was onboard but Daily Sun learned from a very reliable source that despite undertaking the trip with the Air Peace team, Keyamo had no meeting with his counterpart in the UK as the foreign ministry was not informed about the trip and appointment was not scheduled. The airline had to engage the Gatwick airport management to resolve the issue of slot allocation without the minister.
Conclusion: Misleading. The extent of the minister’s involvement in Air Peace Lagos to London operations cannot be ascertained.
Claim seven: The minister recently obtained the Federal Executive Councils (FEC) approval to boost revenue and prevent losses at FAAN facilities nationwide by requiring all VIPs to pay access fees at all the airport toll gates, thereby departing from a tradition that existed for decades that gave VIPs exemptions at the airports.
Fact: On Tuesday, May 14, 2023, the FEC chaired by President Bola Tinubu, approved a memorandum from the ministry of aviation scrapping toll exemptions for all Very Important Persons (VIP) and government officials using the airports.
Conclusion: True. The president approved scrapping of toll exemptions for VIPs.
Claim eight: Under the minister’s watch, the United States-Nigeria Open Skies Air Transport agreement entered into force, which is a huge step that will pave the way for our local airlines to start operating the route in full. Keyamo said that the government was losing over 82 per cent of the revenue it should have earned from the e-tags that provide access to the airports. He explained that the memoranda had initially recommended an exemption for the president and the vice president but that Tinubu overruled the recommendation, insisting that he and the VP alongside their aides must pay tolls.
Fact: The U.S.-Nigeria ‘Open Skies’ Air Transport agreement, has been provisionally applied since 2000, and entered into force on May 13, 2024. The time frame and effective date for implementation was put in the agreement before it was signed during the administration of Kema Chikwe, a former aviation minister. The current aviation minister had zero input in its implementation as the takeoff date just coincided with his tenure. Nigeria has always had an open skies agreement with the US, while it has a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with other countries, however, the open skies allowed US carriers to have unrestricted entrance into Nigerian cities and airports.
An aviation analyst, Amos Akpan, told Daily Sun that the implication of this agreement is that Nigeria has not built the capacity to reciprocate what America brings to the table as the country does not yet have the airlines with capacity to operate scheduled flights into many cities in America, offering many frequencies into and out of chosen airports.
On the other hand, American airlines may decide to operate daily to Abuja and Lagos from many cities as long as there is passenger and cargo traffic.
Conclusion: False. The agreement and effective date of implementation was already in place before Keyamo’s term.
Claim nine: Through the diplomatic effort of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the minister successfully coordinated with UAE authorities, resulting in the resumption of Emirates flights by October 1, 2024.
Fact: In November 2022, Emirates, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national carrier, suspended flights into Nigeria over its inability to repatriate its $85 million revenue trapped in the country. The suspension was the second time the airline halted flights to the over its blocked funds, the first time was in August, 2022. But with the resolution of the issue of trapped funds by the CBN, the airline recently revealed it would resume services to Nigeria from October 1, 2024.
The airline said on its website that it would commence operating a daily service from Lagos on October 1, offering customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai.
Though the minister had visited Dubai on few occasions and shortly afterwards, announced that the airline would soon commence operations, it is unclear exactly how involved he was in the airline’s decision to resume operations considering the fact that the UAE is yet to lift the visa ban imposed on Nigeria. In announcing the resumption of Emirates’ operations to Nigeria however, the minister kept mum on the fate of Air Peace and what the aviation ministry is doing to ensure the resumption of the airlines’ Nigeria-Dubai operations.
Conclusion: Misleading. The CBN resolving trapped funds likely influenced the resumption of Emirates, not Keyamo’s diplomacy.