Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo, has made a case for Nigeria to anchor the African Development Bank’s $7 billion aviation programme, saying the country has laid the groundwork for large-scale investment in the sector.
Keyamo spoke in Brazzaville at a dialogue session with AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina and the bank’s Board of Governors.
He attended in his new role as “African Champion” of the bank’s Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa, IATP.
He told the session that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has repositioned aviation as a priority sector for growth and job creation.
“The potentials are huge, especially with the newly approved Nigeria Aircraft Leasing Company,” Keyamo said.
He urged the AfDB to mobilise capital to support the leasing company, adding that it could serve as a model for other African countries to replicate.
Keyamo said Nigeria had already carried out key legal and regulatory reforms to attract aviation finance.
He cited the domestication of the Cape Town Convention, the update of Nigeria’s IDERA procedures, and the overhaul of aviation insurance policies to meet global standards.
“These steps mean Nigeria has done the groundwork to enable the takeoff of such an initiative,” he told the AfDB governors.
Adesina expressed “delight” at the presentation and restated the bank’s commitment to the success of the IATP in Africa, with Nigeria as a flagship.
