The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo SAN, has said that the return of Emirates Airline to Nigeria is in the best interest of the country.
I’m his reply to demand by former Minister of Aviation, Ostia Chidoka that the airline must apologize to Nigerians, Keyamo said the imminent return of Emirates to Nigeria would lead to AirPeace returning to operating that route.
Keyamo insisted that such move would lead to better competition which will ultimately crash the present high fares on that route.
He said: “Thank you, @osita_chidoka for your opinion. However, to demonstrate your patriotism, sincerity and fidelity to the touted ‘Nigerian Pride’, the big puzzle is, why did you fail to similarly advise your boss, principal and mentor @atiku to immediately relocate from Dubai to Nigeria and sell off all his assets there in protest when the ban on visa and flights were announced? Hypocrisy has never been this audacious!
“Again, it is curious that, as a member of the think-tank of the PDP, your election strategy at a time (popularly dubbed ‘the Dubai Strategy’) was hatched in the same Dubai and not in Nigeria before the ban was announced. Why export a purely Nigerian project to Dubai if you loved Nigeria so much?
“For the avoidance of doubt, this Government is focused on fostering healthy relationships with major partners around the world for the ultimate benefits of Nigerians. Considering the huge investments and interests of Nigerians in the UAE, should we continue to engage in ‘Bolekaja’ (motor park) diplomacy capable of hurting the interests of Nigerians?
“Will the imminent return of Emirates to Nigeria and in reciprocal manner, AirPeace returning to operating that route, not lead to better competition which will ultimately crash the present high fares on that route?
“Who will benefit more? How many Emiratis visit Nigeria and invest here as much as Nigerians visit the UAE and invest there? Have you bothered to ask about the lifting of the visa ban before issuing your warped statement? For your information, that has been resolved too and the announcement is imminent.
“Rather than craftily resorting to the card of false nationalism in pursuit of cheap political points, you should have told Nigerians the economic disadvantages Nigeria stand to suffer, if any, as a result of the commendable effort of the Tinubu administration to straighten our relations with our friends in the UAE.
“I will advise your PDP to work harder to regain power in 2027 and maybe resume your hostilities with the UAE authorities thereafter.”
