Govt officials, contractors to fly only Nigerian airlines – Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says the Fly Nigeria Act will transform into law under his watch.

The minister lamented that the document, which is expected to make it mandatory for government-financed air transportation of government personnel, contractors, grantees, and properties to be carried by Nigeria Air Flag Carriers, has yet to materialise more than 15 years after it was first proposed.

Speaking at a one-day “Stakeholders’ Engagement on the Legal Framework for the Fly Nigeria Bill and Related Enabling Legislation’, in Abuja, Keyamo said he would rally all the major stakeholders to push for the Bill to be signed into law.

Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, and the spokesperson of the Association, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, described the move as a new dawn for the country’s aviation and domestic airline.

Speaking at the event, Keyamo said, “This has been on the cards for some time, for many years, more than 15 years, because I think my predecessor, Chief Omotoba, served more than 15 years ago. So you can imagine that this bill was taken to council more than 15 years ago, and yet it did not see the light of day. Under my tenure, it will happen.

“We just want to get things done. And so, when I came to the office, I saw a couple of these things hanging on my desk, like the Cape Town Convention, to the cry of the Aviation Working Group, and all the proposals that have been made to former governments to develop especially indigenous industry, a local industry. And what we did was to say, look, let us revive all of these dead things on my table that would help or that will help to develop our local industry.

“And one of them, of course, is the Fly Nigeria Act. Luckily Olisa Agbakoba was also talking to me about it. He had brought a proposal.

”It’s a global conspiracy, but you have to be smart to see it. Look at the entire African continent. Just look at it. All the foreign airlines in the world feed on the African markets without competition from African airlines, without fair competition from African airlines. And they will ensure that this aviation market in Africa remains taunted. Especially in a big country like Nigeria, they will ensure that it remains taunted so that they will continue to feed on your markets.”

The minister further lamented that nationals of the world have been feeding fat in Nigeria without a commensurate gain to Africans.

“Air France is coming here full, going back full.  So, we’ll set up a technical session. We have a pre-draft resolution here. The National Assembly members are waiting for the bill to get there. The senators are just waiting. It’s for us to set up a technical committee. We agreed in principle that this is good for us, good for aviation, you know, local operators especially.”