- Keyamo accused Obi of misrepresenting an airport parking enforcement incident
- The minister demanded an apology and payment of a ₦25,000 penalty within seven days
- Keyamo said CCTV footage showed the vehicle violated airport parking regulations
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has asked Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi to publicly apologise to airport officials within seven days over an incident involving his vehicle at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
In a statement released on Friday, Eko Hot Blog reports that the minister also demanded that Obi pay a ₦25,000 parking penalty, insisting that airport authorities acted in line with established regulations and not for political reasons.
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Keyamo said a review of CCTV recordings and reports from airport officials showed that the incident happened on July 4 after Obi arrived at the domestic terminal.
According to him, Obi’s police driver stopped in a drop-off area reserved for short-term passenger movement but later left the vehicle unattended while entering the terminal building. Although the driver briefly returned, he allegedly abandoned the vehicle again, prompting security personnel to clamp it for violating airport parking rules.
The minister stressed that the enforcement officers did not know the vehicle belonged to Obi when they carried out the action.
He explained that after discovering the vehicle had been immobilised, the driver contacted Obi, who later reached out to the airport manager and requested that the clamp be removed. The vehicle was eventually released without the required parking violation fee being paid.
Keyamo argued that abandoning a vehicle in a restricted airport zone for an extended period poses a security threat and falls short of international aviation safety standards.
He also faulted Obi’s public comments on the incident, saying the former Anambra State governor wrongly portrayed a routine enforcement exercise as political victimisation despite the matter having already been resolved.
The minister called on Obi to apologise to the airport workers involved, saying they were only carrying out their lawful responsibilities. He warned that if the apology was not made and the outstanding fine remained unpaid within one week, he would direct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to begin appropriate enforcement measures.
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