Keyamo pushes for Fly Nigeria Act to boost indigenous airlines  

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has pledged to prioritize the passage of the long-delayed Fly Nigeria Act, a policy designed to bolster the country’s aviation industry by mandating that government-funded air travel be exclusively carried out by Nigerian airlines.

At a one-day “Stakeholders’ Engagement on the Legal Framework for the Fly Nigeria Bill and Related Enabling Legislation” in Abuja, CableNews24 reports that Keyamo expressed his commitment to transforming the proposal into law during his tenure. The bill, initially introduced over 15 years ago, aims to promote indigenous airline operators by ensuring they benefit from government-related air travel.

Keyamo lamented the delay in the bill’s progress, describing it as a missed opportunity for Nigeria’s aviation sector. “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 proposa,” he assured stakeholders.

The minister highlighted the challenges faced by African airlines, attributing their struggles to global market dynamics that favor foreign carriers. He cited the dominance of international airlines in Nigeria, which he described as a “global conspiracy” to undermine African aviation.

“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,” Keyamo said.

Stakeholders at the event, including the Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, and the spokesperson for the association, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, hailed the minister’s commitment as a transformative step for Nigeria’s aviation sector.

Onyema described the Fly Nigeria Act as a potential “game changer” for domestic airlines, emphasizing its importance in ensuring that local operators benefit from Nigeria’s robust air travel market.

To fast-track the bill, Keyamo announced plans to establish a technical committee to finalize a draft resolution. He also assured stakeholders of strong legislative backing, revealing that members of the National Assembly are prepared to support the initiative.

“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,” the minister said.

————

For Advertisement, Event Coverage/MC, Public Relations, Story/Article Publication, and other Media Services, kindly send an email to: cablenews24.com@gmail.com.

Or Kindly call: 08023535955

To stay updated with the latest news stories, kindly visit cablenews24.com… published by AAAANDREL GLOBAL SERVICES.