Apologise to airport staff, pay N25,000 or face FAAN action - Keyamo tells Peter Obi over airport incident

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has challenged Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to publicly apologise to airport officials and pay a ₦25,000 fine over an incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The demand comes days after Obi alleged that he was being persecuted by the Federal Government and harassed by airport officials after the tyres of his vehicle were clamped.

In a statement released on Friday, July 10, Keyamo said he ordered an internal investigation and reviewed the airport's 24-hour CCTV footage, which he said contradicted Obi's account of the incident.

According to the minister, the footage showed that on July 4, 2026, Obi arrived at the airport around 8:28 p.m. in a vehicle driven by a police officer. After Obi and two other occupants entered the terminal, the police driver allegedly left the vehicle unattended in the airport's drop-off zone, almost blocking the entrance.

Keyamo explained that airport regulations require drivers to remain inside their vehicles in the drop-off area, adding that unattended vehicles pose a security risk and are liable to enforcement.

He said airport security officials eventually clamped the vehicle's tyres, stressing that they did not know the vehicle belonged to Obi at the time.

According to the minister, the police driver later contacted Obi, who allegedly identified himself to the airport manager and requested that the vehicle be released without paying the prescribed fine.

Keyamo accused Obi of using his influence to secure the vehicle's release and later presenting a "false narrative" by claiming he was being persecuted.

He insisted that Obi should publicly apologise to the airport staff for allegedly portraying them unfairly and also return to the airport to pay the ₦25,000 parking violation fine.

"As Minister of Aviation, I make the following demands: that Obi tender an unreserved, public apology to those hardworking, ordinary Nigerian workers at the airport, voluntarily goes back to the airport and pay the appropriate fine of ₦25,000 for wrongful parking at the airport for which he used 'influence peddling' to bully his way out on that day.

"If these demands are not met within one week, I will be giving the necessary directives to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take the next steps against him."

Keyamo said CCTV footage of the incident has been made available to support the government's position.a