The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has asked the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, to publicly apologise to airport officials and pay a ₦25,000 parking fine over a vehicle clamping incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Friday, the minister gave Obi seven days to apologise, warning that failure to do so would prompt the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to take further action.
Keyamo said an internal investigation, supported by CCTV footage, showed that the incident was the result of a parking violation rather than political persecution, as Obi had alleged.
According to the minister, the incident occurred on July 4 after Obi arrived at the airport’s domestic terminal. He said Obi’s police driver parked in a designated drop-off area, left the vehicle unattended and entered the terminal, contrary to airport regulations.
He explained that airport security personnel clamped the vehicle after observing it had been left unattended, adding that officials enforcing the rules were unaware that it belonged to Obi.
Keyamo said the driver later contacted Obi after discovering the vehicle had been clamped, following which Obi reportedly spoke with the airport manager and requested that the vehicle be released. The vehicle was eventually released without payment of the prescribed ₦25,000 penalty.
The minister maintained that leaving a vehicle unattended in a restricted airport zone for an extended period posed a security risk and violated established aviation safety procedures.
He also criticised Obi’s public comments on the incident, saying they unfairly portrayed airport officials as acting out of political bias when they were simply carrying out their duties.
Keyamo called on Obi to issue an unreserved public apology to the affected airport workers and voluntarily pay the outstanding fine within one week.
He warned that if Obi failed to comply with the directive, he would instruct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to take appropriate action in line with existing regulations.
