The Minister who spoke at the ongoing Ministerial Press briefing on Thursday in Abuja said the 7-Member Committee on Illegal Chartered Operations and Related Matters reports is proposing a total shutdown of the private charter wing of the airport as parts of recommendations to tackle the monster even as he rolled out achievements recorded in the Nigeria's aviation sector.
"And they just submitted their report last week, with mind blowing revelations.
In fact, at the point, they even said we should shut down the gate of the private charter wing for total violation in terms of security.
We cannot do that. But that's one of their suggestions. We are still looking into it, on how to quickly implement these recommendations without too much disrupting passenger movement.
"And I will not shy away from saying this. It is the big men that are involved, the President has given us a free hand to fight this menace. They cannot go to the President. The President will send them back. Because the President is determined to do what is right," he warned
The minister who lamented that the country has lost over #120b to the illegal operators, explained that these illegal charter private jets and private aircrafts owners obtain licences under the permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) and use the aircraft to do other illegal transactions.
"There is a hydra-headed monster that we met when we came, and we have decided to tackle it headlong. And that is the issue of using private charter planes, which we call the private jets, using them for all kinds of illegal activities. They have been largely unmanned, uncharged, and they just operate the way they like.
Beyond that, they also deny the federal government of revenue and this has been happening for 40 to 50 years, and when I came, they said, Minister, don't bother yourself with that. These are the big men who own Nigeria.The federal government has lost approximately 120 billion Naira in revenue to illegal charter operations."
Keyamo expressed joy about the signing of the CTC and announcement of Nigeria's score from 49 percent to 70 percent by the Aviation Working Group (AWG).
According to the Minister, as a result of various compliance milestones being attained by the ministry, especially some of the agreements with Boeing to enhance operational efficiency and help position Nigerian airlines for growth in the global aviation market have started yielding positive results.
"Boeing and Cranfield University, a Specialist Post Graduate University in the UK has started to implement trainings with our domestic airlines. This is to fortify safety culture and operational excellence as agreed in the Seattle MoU," the Minister said.
In terms of infrastructural development, he said President Bola Tinubu gave full approval for the upgrade Maiduguri Airport to a full-fledged international airport.
"So very soon, international flights will arrive and depart from Maiduguri International Airport.
We have the highest score in the whole of Africa in terms of the ease of business and the ease of aircraft operation. Nigeria is number one in Africa."
Keyamo noted that the clearing of the foreign airlines trapped funds by the ministry in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has significantly boosted foreign airlines confidence in the Nigeria's aviation sector.
Also, he said by securing reciprocal operating rights for Airpeace on the UK/ Nigeria route the ministry has broken a long-standing monopoly, thereby fostering competition and reduction of airfares.
He spoke of the resumption of the Emirates flight through his ministry's diplomatic efforts which has strengthen ties between both countries.
According to Keyamo, the ministry has also signed the United States/Nigeria Open Skies Agreement, this opening new opportunities for local airlines to operate on the Niger/US route and the in process enhance bilateral trade.
Another achievement according to the Minister, is the take-off of the African Aviation and Aerospace University.
"Let me happily report to you that the university has fully taken off and is one of the best in Africa. People can even come from outside the country to take courses here and we are offering so many courses."
He also spoke on intiatives to grow and support local businesses in the country by ensuring that foreign airlines patronize local caterers.
"As from this year, you will patronize our local caterers in your outbound flights.You come with your food, we accept that. But when flying back, we have a lot of caterers. It is a policy. We are monitoring compliance level. Delta and Qatar have complied.
A couple of airlines have complied and we are monitoring compliance. Some have asked for a bit more time to make their contract with our local caterer because I will not sign their summer schedule without evidence of a contract with local caterer," the minister said.
Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said; "Today presents a valuable occasion for the Honourable Ministers to update Nigerians on the progress and key achievements recorded under their stewardship. This session is an interactive platform, leveraging multimedia channels to promote transparency and direct public engagement, offering firsthand insights into the policies, initiatives, and reforms shaping the ministries’ objectives.
"Since the launch of the 2025 Series of the Ministerial Press Briefing, five Ministers have taken this stage to present their scorecards to Nigerians. As I have previously emphasized, each minister will be able to engage directly with the media during this forum."