The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has called on former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to apologise to airport personnel and pay a ₦25,000 fine over an alleged parking violation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The minister also gave Mr Peter Obi a week ultimatum to tender an unreserved public apology to airport workers or face future consequences.
Keyamo made the demand in a statement issued on Saturday following an internal investigation into Obi’s recent claim that the tyres of his vehicle were unjustly clamped at the Abuja airport, an action he had suggested was politically motivated.
According to the minister, a review of CCTV footage from the airport showed that Obi arrived at the domestic terminal on July 4, 2026, at about 8:28 p.m. and was dropped off by a police driver.
He alleged that the driver parked the vehicle in a designated drop-off zone, left it unattended and entered the terminal building, contrary to airport regulations.
Keyamo said airport security personnel later clamped the vehicle after it had remained unattended in the restricted area, insisting that officials who carried out the action were unaware the vehicle belonged to Obi.
The minister further alleged that when the police driver discovered the vehicle had been clamped, he contacted Obi by telephone and handed the phone to an airport manager.
According to Keyamo, Obi identified himself and requested the release of the vehicle, which was subsequently released without payment of the prescribed fine.
He maintained that leaving a vehicle unattended for about 30 minutes in a drop-off zone constituted a security risk and violated established airport safety procedures.
“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,” Keyamo said, adding that the airport authorities had initially treated the matter as resolved before it became a public controversy.
The minister demanded that Obi issue a public apology to airport workers whom he said were unfairly portrayed as persecutors and voluntarily return to pay the ₦25,000 penalty for wrongful parking.
He warned that if the demands were not met within one week, he would direct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to take further action.
The controversy follows Obi’s recent allegation that the clamping of his vehicle formed part of a broader pattern of intimidation against opposition figures.
As of the time of filing this report, Obi had not publicly responded to Keyamo’s latest statement.
