Business
CCTV Footage: Keyamo demands apology, N25,000 fine from Peter Obi over airport parking claim
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has demanded a public apology from the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, over claims that his vehicle was “unjustly” clamped at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, describing the allegation as false.
Mr Keyamo, in a statement posted on his X page on Friday, also asked Mr Obi to pay the N25,000 fine prescribed for violating airport parking regulations, warning that failure to do so within one week could lead to further action by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The minister said he ordered an internal investigation after Mr Obi alleged that the incident formed part of a broader campaign of political persecution against him.
According to Mr Keyamo, CCTV footage from the airport showed that Mr Obi’s vehicle was parked unattended for about 30 minutes in a designated drop-off zone, contrary to airport regulations.
“Politics aside, every Nigerian is entitled to fair treatment under the law,” the minister said.
He added that, “I therefore instituted an internal inquiry over the issue.”
Minister disputes Obi’s account
Mr Keyamo said the footage showed that Mr Obi arrived at the airport on 4 July at about 8:28 p.m. and entered the terminal with two other occupants after alighting from the vehicle, which was being driven by a police officer.
According to him, the police officer also left the vehicle unattended after briefly returning to collect an item, prompting airport security personnel to clamp its tyres.
He said the officials were unaware the vehicle belonged to Mr Obi when they carried out the enforcement action.
The minister further alleged that after discovering the vehicle had been clamped, the police officer contacted Mr Obi by telephone and handed the phone to an airport manager.
Mr Keyamo claimed Mr Obi identified himself and requested the release of the vehicle, which was eventually released without payment of the prescribed fine.
He argued that leaving a vehicle unattended in a drop-off zone constitutes a security risk, particularly at an international airport.
“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,” Mr Keyamo said.
He dismissed Mr Obi’s claim that other improperly parked vehicles were ignored, describing the allegation as false.
Demands
The minister said Mr Obi should publicly apologise to airport personnel whom he accused of persecuting him while carrying out their lawful duties.
He also asked the former Anambra governor to return to the airport voluntarily and pay the N25,000 penalty for wrongful parking.
“If these demands are not met within one week, I will be giving the necessary directives to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take the next steps against him,” Mr Keyamo said.
Background
Earlier, Mr Obi, during an appearance on the With Chude podcast last week, alleged that he might not survive to contest the 2027 presidential election, citing what he described as a pattern of harassment against him and his associates.
Among the incidents he referenced was the airport episode, where he claimed his vehicle was clamped while other vehicles parked in the same area were left untouched. He also alleged that some of his associates had become reluctant to publicly associate with him for fear of government reprisal.
READ ALSO: Presidency reacts to Peter Obis safety concerns
The Presidency rejected the allegations, with President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, saying the airport incident stemmed from a breach of parking regulations rather than any act of political persecution.
Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress in December 2025 and is now the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
As of the time of filing this report, Mr Obi had not publicly responded to Mr Keyamo’s demands.
Business
Sierra Leonean President Bio, Elumelu rally West African private sector to turn regional potential into investment, jobs
The President of Sierra Leone and immediate past Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Julius Maada Bio, and leading African investor and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, have called on West Africa’s private sector to move decisively from the promise of regional integration to its delivery.
They both called for support to mobilise capital, build competitive industries, create jobs, and transform the region’s vast economic potential into shared prosperity.
Hosting President Bio in Lagos ahead of the inaugural West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS), Mr Elumelu brought together leading private sector and financial institution leaders for the inaugural physical meeting of the WAIIS Private Sector Advisory Board.
The meeting focused on four strategic areas with the potential to reshape West Africa’s economic future: energy trade and industrialisation, strategic minerals, agribusiness, and digital transformation.
President Bio set out an ambitious vision for WAIIS to consolidate a regional market of more than 400 million people and mobilise businesses from within West Africa and across the world to deepen trade, investment and economic cooperation.
“We are partners in execution — let us transform ideas into partnerships, partnerships into investments, and investments into lasting prosperity for our continent,” Mr Bio told members of the Advisory Board.
He added: “But potential is not prosperity. Our task is to convert these advantages into productive enterprises, competitive industries, regional value chains, jobs and wealth.”
Mr Elumelu welcomed President Bio’s initiative to place private capital and enterprise at the heart of the regional agenda, reaffirming his commitment to mobilising African and international investment alongside leading African financial institutions, including the Africa Finance Corporation, Afreximbank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Ecobank, etc., to support the execution of priority projects.
The approach reflects Mr Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism—the belief that the African private sector has a defining role to play in catalysing the continent’s economic transformation through long-term investment in critical sectors.
Mr Elumelu stressed that Africa’s businesses must increasingly look beyond national borders and combine capital, expertise and capabilities to build enterprises and industries capable of competing at scale, while creating jobs and expanding opportunity across the sub-region.
“This is consistent with our aspirations to create jobs for our young people,” Mr Elumelu said. “We have all it takes to be prosperous.”
But private sector ambition, he noted, must be matched by decisive government action.
“Governments must provide the policy certainty, regulatory efficiency and security required to give investors the confidence to commit capital for the long term.”
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, underscored the importance of industrialisation and the free movement of goods and services in building a truly integrated West African market. He stressed that political leaders must provide the enabling environment, certainty and assurances required for businesses to invest, produce and trade across borders.
At the centre of the discussion was a shared conviction that West Africa has the scale, resources, talent and entrepreneurial capacity to become one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions.
With the Summit now less than two months away, Mr Bio called on members of the Advisory Board to move from advocacy to active mobilisation: engaging prospective investors directly, matching them with viable projects, and identifying the financing gaps, policy decisions and other interventions required to move transactions forward.
WAIIS will take place on 17–18 November 2026 at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre in Lungi, Sierra Leone, bringing heads of state, investors and business leaders together to advance investment across energy, strategic minerals, agribusiness and digital transformation.
READ ALSO: How Nigeria’s Population Commission mismanaged N245 billion on undelivered products, other controversial contracts – Auditor-General
Notable names on the WAIIS Private Sector Advisory Board are Tony Elumelu — Chairman, Heirs Holdings; Aliko Dangote— Group President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group; Folorunso Alakija — Executive Vice Chairman, FA Limited; Samuel Dossou-Aworet — Founding Chairman, Petrolin Group; George Elombi — President & Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank; and Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman/CEO, BUA Group.
Others are Wale Tinubu — Group Chief Executive, Oando PLC; Samaila Zubairu — President & Chief Executive Officer, Africa Finance Corporation; Alain Ebobissé — Chief Executive Officer, Africa50; Jean-Claude Kassi Brou — Governor, Central Bank of West African States; Paulo Gomes — Founder and Chairman, Orango Investment Corporation; Benedict Okey Oramah — Chairman, Africa Trading Minerals (ATMIN); and Habib Yérim Sow — Group Chairman & CEO, Teyliom Group.
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