Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo is tackling some of Nigeria’s costliest aviation bottlenecks, ranging from a ₦132 billion airport dispute to unlocking international aircraft leasing. Three years into the administration of President Bola Tinubu, his policy shifts demonstrate how regulatory changes and diplomatic resolutions can finally generate new economic momentum for Africa’s biggest aviation landscape.
For nearly two decades, a dispute over an airport terminal in Lagos left the Nigerian government entangled in litigation, complicated investment and produced a financial claim running into billions of naira. Successive administrations inherited the controversy. None brought it to a definitive conclusion.
Then, on October 20, 2026, the Federal Government and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited signed an agreement that ended the longstanding dispute over Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two.
Under the settlement, Bi-Courtney waived judgment debt and associated claims valued at approximately ₦132 billion, while the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria secured a clearer basis for collecting concession revenue.
For Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo, it was a significant achievement. For Nigeria, it illustrated something more profound: the enormous economic cost of institutional failures and the value that can be recovered when governments finally resolve them.
Much of Nigeria’s aviation history has been narrated through airports built, airlines established and aircraft acquired. Far less attention has been paid to the money lost through expensive aircraft financing, unresolved contracts, inadequate infrastructure and international mistrust.
Yet these hidden costs have undermined the industry for decades.
Three years into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, Keyamo’s interventions suggest a broader approach to aviation development: removing the obstacles that have prevented Nigeria from converting its enormous air transport market into sustained economic value.
The ₦132 billion lesson
The Bi-Courtney settlement demonstrates the economic consequences of unresolved government obligations.
At the heart of the dispute were conflicting claims over concession rights, terminal operations and associated commercial facilities at Lagos airport.
The disagreement generated years of litigation and uncertainty, discouraging investment and preventing a stable commercial relationship between the parties.
Under the negotiated settlement, historical claims were relinquished, contractual arrangements clarified and the Federal Government’s control of the General Aviation Terminal preserved.
Keyamo disclosed that FAAN had not received concession revenue from MMA2 throughout the prolonged disagreement.
The agreement therefore did more than eliminate a substantial financial liability. It reopened a revenue opportunity and established greater certainty for future investment.
In an industry dependent on long-term capital, such certainty is an economic asset.
It also demonstrated Keyamo’s willingness to confront inherited problems that had resisted resolution for years.
Breaking the aircraft financing deadlock
Another major cost to Nigerian aviation has been the difficulty domestic airlines face in obtaining aircraft from international leasing companies.
For years, international lessors were reluctant to finance Nigerian operators because of concerns over contract enforcement and aircraft repossession.
The consequences were severe: limited fleet expansion, expensive leasing arrangements and reduced competitiveness.
Keyamo responded by prioritising Nigeria’s compliance with the Cape Town Convention, the international framework governing financial interests in aircraft.
Working with judicial and aviation authorities, his ministry advanced a new Practice Direction and administrative rules covering aircraft de-registration, export authorisations and creditors’ rights.
Nigeria’s compliance score on the Aviation Working Group’s index rose from approximately 49 per cent to 70.5 per cent and subsequently to 75.5 per cent, securing its removal from the group’s watchlist of non-compliant jurisdictions.
The reforms produced a significant commercial result in November 2025 when Air Peace received a dry-leased Boeing 737-700 from AerCap, one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies.
It was Nigeria’s first major commercial dry-lease transaction in nearly a decade.
The transaction demonstrated how regulatory improvements could translate into renewed international confidence and practical financing opportunities.
The proposed Nigerian Aircraft Leasing Company, approved in principle by the Federal Executive Council, could further improve access to aircraft for indigenous operators.
Together, these interventions address one of the most persistent barriers to the growth of Nigerian airlines.
Recovering Nigeria’s international aviation opportunities
When the Tinubu administration assumed office in 2023, foreign airlines were struggling to repatriate approximately $850 million in accumulated revenues.
The crisis damaged Nigeria’s reputation, disrupted international services and weakened investor confidence.
Through coordinated action involving the Central Bank of Nigeria and relevant government institutions, the backlog was substantially resolved.
By April 2024, the International Air Transport Association reported that approximately 98 per cent of the blocked funds had been cleared.
Emirates’ return to Lagos on October 1, 2024, after nearly two years away, became an important symbol of restored commercial confidence.
But Keyamo’s ambition extended beyond bringing foreign carriers back.
He also pursued greater opportunities for Nigerian airlines on international routes.
Air Peace commenced Lagos–London Gatwick services in March 2024 and subsequently expanded its London operations through Abuja–Heathrow services in October 2025.
Keyamo’s advocacy of reciprocity reflects a determination to ensure that Nigerian operators participate more meaningfully in the international aviation market.
The ministry has also advanced aviation arrangements involving Brazil, Algeria, Cameroon and Canada, creating opportunities for expanded connectivity, trade and tourism.
For Nigeria, the objective is not merely to attract international passengers but to retain more of the commercial benefits generated by its aviation market.
Safety as an economic advantage
Aviation safety is commonly discussed in terms of passenger protection and regulatory compliance. Yet it also has significant commercial implications.
International financiers, insurers and airline operators depend on credible safety oversight when assessing aviation markets.
In April 2026, Nigeria recorded a 91.45 per cent Effective Implementation score during the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Coordinated Validation Mission, its highest reported safety oversight assessment.
The preliminary result placed Nigeria above the global average of 70.4 per cent and the West African regional average of 61.1 per cent cited at the time.
For Keyamo, whose five-point agenda prioritised safety, the achievement represented an important milestone.
It reflected improvements across aviation regulatory institutions and strengthened Nigeria’s international standing.
More importantly, it demonstrated that institutional credibility can be as valuable to aviation development as physical infrastructure.
Turning airports into productive economic assets
The Tinubu administration’s infrastructure investments reflect another dimension of Keyamo’s programme.
In July 2025, the Federal Executive Council approved ₦712.26 billion for the comprehensive rehabilitation and modernisation of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The programme includes the reconstruction of its ageing international Terminal One and improvements intended to strengthen operational efficiency and passenger services.
The administration has also advanced construction of a new Nigerian Airspace Management Agency headquarters and centralised Air Traffic Management Centre, alongside improvements at regional airports.
The concession of Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu is intended to attract private investment into airport development and management.
Meanwhile, initiatives involving electronic passenger processing, airport modernisation and improved air connectivity seek to make Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure more commercially productive.
For Keyamo, the wider objective is to develop airports that function not merely as transportation facilities but as economic gateways capable of supporting business, tourism and investment.
Keeping aviation value within Nigeria
Keyamo’s programme also places emphasis on expanding Nigerian participation in the aviation economy.
His support for indigenous airlines, local aviation services and professional training reflects an effort to retain more industry-generated value domestically.
The ministry’s directive encouraging international airlines to patronise Nigerian catering businesses was one such initiative.
The establishment of a task force to investigate illegal private charter operations similarly sought to address regulatory abuses and potential revenue losses.
In human capacity development, the African Aviation and Aerospace University and training partnerships involving Boeing and Cranfield University offer opportunities to strengthen domestic technical expertise.
Nigeria’s engagement with Airbus and Boeing has also opened avenues for cooperation in aircraft acquisition, infrastructure and aerospace development.
The commercial significance lies in creating a stronger domestic aviation ecosystem capable of supporting employment, technical capacity and investment.
From national reform to continental leadership
In May 2026, the African Development Bank appointed Keyamo African Champion for its proposed $7 billion Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa.
The initiative aims to improve aviation infrastructure, financing and connectivity across the continent.
Nigeria subsequently signed a Letter of Intent with the bank in Brazzaville to advance the programme’s implementation.
Although the proposed funding is continent-wide rather than an allocation already disbursed to Nigeria, Keyamo’s appointment places him in a prominent position within Africa’s aviation development agenda.
It also reflects the growing international attention attracted by Nigeria’s regulatory reforms.
Tinubu’s reforms and Keyamo’s political commitment
The aviation developments since 2023 form part of President Tinubu’s wider Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its emphasis on infrastructure, private investment and institutional reform.
Keyamo has consistently argued that the President’s economic programme requires policy continuity to deliver its intended benefits.
His support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition became more formally defined in October 2026 when the President appointed him Director of Air Mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress’ 2027 re-election campaign.
The appointment gives Keyamo responsibility for coordinating aviation-related logistics within the campaign structure, alongside his ministerial duties.
His political position is clear, but the aviation record raises a broader economic question.
Aircraft financing reforms, airport reconstruction and international partnerships are long-term undertakings. Their benefits depend on sustained implementation, regulatory consistency and institutional stability.
The next phase will therefore be measured by whether the reforms produce stronger airlines, efficient airports, affordable financing and improved passenger services.
That is the practical test of the administration’s aviation investments, irrespective of the political debate surrounding 2027.
The economic value of fixing what was broken
The most revealing aspect of Keyamo’s aviation record is not necessarily the number of agreements signed or projects announced.
It is the pattern connecting his major interventions.
A prolonged concession dispute has been resolved. Aircraft leasing restrictions have begun to ease. Foreign airlines’ trapped revenues have been substantially cleared. Nigerian carriers have gained new international opportunities, while aviation safety oversight has recorded a significant improvement.
Each achievement addresses a different weakness. Together, they illustrate how institutional reform can recover economic opportunities previously constrained by uncertainty and inefficiency.
Nigeria’s aviation industry has never lacked potential. What it has frequently lacked is an environment capable of converting that potential into sustainable commercial value.
Keyamo’s contribution has been to confront several of those longstanding barriers.
Three years into the Tinubu administration, the results point towards an aviation sector increasingly focused on the systems that make investment, growth and competitiveness possible.
For decades, Nigeria counted the cost of what its aviation industry could not achieve. Keyamo’s reforms are beginning to demonstrate the value of addressing the failures that held it back.
And that may ultimately prove a more consequential legacy than any new airport terminal.
What You Should Know
Nigeria’s aviation sector has historically suffered from heavy financial losses, unresolved legal battles, and a lack of trust from international investors. Minister Festus Keyamo has stepped in to clean up these long-standing issues by ending a major ₦132 billion terminal dispute and bringing Nigeria back into compliance with global aviation leasing rules.
- Positive Impact: Local airlines like Air Peace can now easily lease international aircraft, travel options become safer and more reliable, and foreign carriers are returning, boosting overall commercial activity and investor confidence.
- Potential Concerns: While these reforms are encouraging, maintaining strict adherence to international agreements and ensuring continuous infrastructure maintenance will be vital to prevent future operational setbacks.
