The greatest acknowledged of the enviable reform the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has carried out in the aviation industry, is his appointment as African champion by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Keyamo, as the African Champion, would drive AfDB programme developed to invest substantially in the aviation industry in Africa.
The regional bank, which functions as a premier multilateral development institution on the continent, stated that it chose Keyamo because of Nigeria’s ‘leadership and vision’ in respect of various policy reforms to transform Nigeria’s Aviation sector.
The Minister is now driving the Integrated Aviation Transformation Program for Africa (IATP) for which African Development Bank has earmarked the sum of $7 billion.
The Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa is a continent-wide platform designed to modernize Africa’s aviation ecosystem and mobilize private, institutional, and concessional capital. It seeks to revitalize the industry, as African airlines currently account for less than 3 percent of global air traffic despite housing nearly 18 percent of the global population.
In the letter of invitation African Development Bank said, “Nigeria has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the early phase of the Integrated Aviation Transformation Program for Africa (IATP) — a continent-wide platform launched by the African Development Bank to mobilize private and institutional capital, de-risk investments, and transform aviation into a driver of regional integration and economic growth across Africa.
“Nigeria’s engagement has been exemplary: the Federal Government has completed the IATP country survey, advanced initial work on the country compact, identified concrete opportunities to finance aircraft in Nigeria, and is actively exploring the creation of a Nigerian aviation financing platform. This level of commitment positions Nigeria as one of the IATP’s foremost country champions, and the Bank is deeply grateful for your Ministry’s leadership and vision.”
African Development Bank is a premier multilateral development institution by financing large-scale infrastructure projects, mobilizing public and private capital, and providing policy guidance to African nations
So, Keyamo, in his new role as African Champion of IATP, attended a dialogue session with the President and Governors of AfDB, where he addressed them on the opportunities presented by the $7 billion IATP plan for Africa and, especially, Nigeria.
He unveiled President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the aviation sector and rolled out the potential of the sector, especially the newly approved Nigeria Aircraft Leasing Company and why the bank should mobilise capital to support it.
Credit should be given to the federal government for the transformation that happened in the industry and to the Minister who meticulously followed the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and turned into reality.
Under the Tinubu government, Keyamo successfully resolved an international crisis by clearing approximately $850 million in blocked foreign airline funds, prompting airlines like Emirates to resume operations and removing Nigeria from the IATA watchlist of top debtor nations
Under his leadership, Nigeria’s compliance with the global Cape Town Convention rose from 49.5% to 75.5%. This restored international confidence and allowed local airlines to secure dry leases and lower their insurance premiums
He championed the construction of the N81 billion second runway at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (Abuja), oversaw the refurbishment of the second runway in Lagos, and relocated international flight operations to the new Terminals to improve passenger efficiency.
He expanded Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) and was instrumental in breaking foreign monopolies on international routes, allowing Nigerian carriers like Air Peace to launch direct flights on the lucrative Lagos-London corridor
These are no mean achievements and the administration takes all the credit, especially when all these were achieved within the first three years of the administration.
Nick Udenta
