Nigeria has taken another major step toward repositioning its aviation sector for investment and continental competitiveness following the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme (IATP).
The agreement was signed in Brazzaville, Congo, on Thursday by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, during a strategic dialogue session with the President and Governors of the AfDB.
Keyamo, who was recently appointed African Champion of the IATP, used the session to showcase investment opportunities within Nigeria’s aviation industry and outline reforms being implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Central to the Minister’s presentation was the newly approved Nigeria Aircraft Leasing Company, which he described as a game-changing initiative capable of easing aircraft acquisition challenges faced by domestic carriers while reducing dependence on foreign leasing arrangements.
He urged the AfDB to mobilise capital support for the initiative, noting that Nigeria’s leasing framework could serve as a scalable model for other African countries seeking to strengthen aviation financing and infrastructure.
According to Keyamo, Nigeria has already undertaken critical regulatory and policy reforms to create a more investor-friendly aviation environment. These include the domestication of the Cape Town Convention, updates to the Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA) framework, and the restructuring of aviation insurance policies in line with international standards.
The Minister also unveiled Nigeria’s Country Compact for the aviation sector, a framework designed to align the country’s aviation development priorities with the AfDB’s broader continental transformation strategy.
President of the AfDB welcomed the presentation and reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting the successful implementation of the $7 billion IATP initiative across Africa, with particular interest in Nigeria’s aviation reform agenda.
The signing of the LOI signals deeper collaboration between Nigeria and the AfDB in advancing aviation infrastructure, financing, connectivity, and sector-wide transformation across the continent.