Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, a one-week ultimatum to publicly apologise to staff of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and pay a ₦25,000 fine for alleged wrongful parking.
Keyamo issued the directive in a statement on Friday after what he described as an internal investigation into Obi’s claim that his vehicle’s tyres were unjustly clamped at the airport as part of a persecution campaign against him.
According to the minister, CCTV footage from the airport contradicted Obi’s account of the incident.
“As the Minister of Aviation, I felt a moral duty to investigate and authenticate the claim made by opposition candidate, Mr Peter Obi, a few days ago that the tyres of his car were ‘unjustly’ clamped at the airport, suggesting a ‘persecution agenda’ against him by the Federal Government. Politics aside, every Nigerian is entitled to fair treatment under the law,” Keyamo said.
The minister stated that the incident occurred at about 8:28 p.m. on July 4 and was fully captured by the airport’s 24-hour closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system.
According to Keyamo, Obi arrived at the domestic terminal in a vehicle driven by a police officer and entered the terminal with two other occupants.
He alleged that the driver parked the vehicle in a restricted drop-off zone in a manner that almost obstructed the terminal entrance, contrary to airport regulations that permit only brief stops for passenger drop-off.
Keyamo further claimed that the police officer left the vehicle unattended after entering the terminal building, prompting airport officials to clamp the tyres.
He added that although the officer briefly returned to retrieve an item from the vehicle, he left it parked at the same location again, after which the vehicle was clamped while unoccupied.
According to the minister, the police officer later contacted Obi, who subsequently spoke with the airport manager and secured the release of the vehicle without paying the prescribed ₦25,000 parking violation fine.
Keyamo maintained that the vehicle remained in the prohibited drop-off area for approximately 30 minutes, describing the action as a security concern that violated internationally accepted airport safety and traffic management standards.
“What has emerged from this is a clear case of an opposition candidate trying to whip up unnecessary sentiments for a wrong he committed with his driver. The excuse which Mr Peter Obi gave that there were other offenders too on that day (which is completely false) cannot be an excuse for an individual aspiring to be President of Nigeria. He must live above board,” the minister said.
He accused Obi of reviving an issue that had already been resolved and promoting what he described as a false narrative for political advantage.
Keyamo directed the former Anambra State governor to publicly apologise to airport workers for portraying them as agents of persecution and to voluntarily pay the ₦25,000 fine for the parking violation.
He warned that if Obi fails to comply within one week, he would instruct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take further action in accordance with applicable regulations.
The controversy followed Obi’s earlier allegation that his vehicle was unfairly targeted by airport officials, a claim that generated political debate and raised questions about the treatment of opposition figures. Keyamo, however, insists that the incident was purely an enforcement of airport parking regulations and not politically motivated. At the time of filing this report, Obi had not publicly responded to the minister’s latest ultimatum.
