By Dickson Omobola
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, has asked Mr Nnaemeka Ikerionwu, who volunteered to pay the N25,000 fine imposed on Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate in 2023, Mr Peter Obi, to liaise with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, on the payment process.
Last Friday, Keyamo, in a statement posted on his X handle, demanded that Obi tender a public apology to airport officials and pay a N25,000 fine over an alleged parking violation, following an internal inquiry instituted to verify the former Anambra State governor’s claim that the tyres of his vehicle were “unjustly” clamped at the airport.
According to the minister, the investigation, backed by CCTV footage, showed that Obi’s vehicle was parked unattended in a restricted area, prompting airport security personnel to clamp its tyres.
Keyamo said Obi arrived at the domestic wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on July 4, 2026, and left the vehicle after being dropped off by a police driver.
Meanwhile, in a post on his X handle, the Minister responded to Ikerionwu’s offer to settle the fine on Obi’s behalf by asking him to meet with FAAN’s Director of Commercial and Business Development for guidance on the payment process.
He wrote: “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Please, Mr Nnaemeka Ikerionwu should proceed to see the Director of Commercial and Business Development for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and he will be directed on the mode of payment of the fine for the offender.
“Now that we have burst his bubble, next time, Peter Obi should think twice before making outlandish claims of being targeted at our airports or anywhere for that matter in order to get ‘sympathy votes’.”
The minister’s latest response suggests that government is willing to accept payment of the fine through a third party.
However, Keyamo did not indicate whether his earlier demand that Obi tender a public apology to airport officials had been waived.
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