The recent appointment of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, as Director of Air Mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 re-election campaign has raised important questions about the separation of political responsibilities from the administration and security of Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Under the arrangement announced by the Presidency, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, will serve as Deputy Director I, while the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed Umar, will serve as Deputy Director II.
Although the proposed directorate is understood to be concerned primarily with coordinating air transportation and campaign logistics, the involvement of serving aviation sector administrators in a partisan political structure has received diverse opinions amongst stakeholders in the aviation industry.
Those against the new move, which are largely from opposition parties, have raised fundamental questions, enquiring if the Presidency fully appreciates the possible implications of introducing political campaign mobilisation into airport environments, especially the security consequences for aviation and, by extension, national security.
To them, their concern is based on security issues that could arise from the new arrangement, just as they warned against allowing political mobilisation to interfere with the operational and security requirements of airports. This is more so, because airports are not ordinary public gathering places. They are highly sensitive national infrastructure with complex security arrangements designed to protect passengers, aircraft, airport personnel, facilities and the wider aviation ecosystem.
Beyond the immediate security implications, experts are also of the view that Nigeria must also consider the possible consequences for international aviation confidence. For instance, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), through Annex 17, establishes international standards and recommended practices for safeguarding civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference. These requirements are not merely administrative procedures. They constitute an essential component of the broader national security architecture.
Besides, Nigeria’s aviation security framework recognises these vulnerabilities. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARs) Part 17 specifically addresses aviation security and applies to airport operators, airport tenants, service providers and persons within or around designated airport environments.
But from the structure of the new directorate, it appears that the creation of the directorate may not necessarily turn airport premises into political mobilisation centres, rally grounds or venues for crowd-based partisan activities.
It is therefore necessary to distinguish between using air transportation for campaign logistics and using airport premises for political mobilisation.
For instance, there is nothing inherently objectionable about political parties chartering aircraft, purchasing airline tickets or coordinating the movement of campaign officials through properly authorised aviation channels. Such activities are part of legitimate air transport operations.
However, coordinating campaign flights is fundamentally different from organising political rallies, supporter gatherings or mass mobilisation within airport precincts.
The former is an aviation logistics responsibility; the latter introduces additional public-order and security considerations that airport authorities must not take lightly.
Whatever the intent seeks to pursue, it is very important that the authorities, the Minister of Aviation, FAAN and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) appreciate that airport security cannot be compromised by activities whose planning and execution fall outside established aviation security procedures.
All stakeholders including the politicians and airport management should therefore, retain complete authority to restrict activities that could compromise security or disrupt operations, irrespective of the political personalities involved.
While political parties have legitimate rights to organise, mobilise supporters and prepare for elections, such activities must be conducted within clearly defined boundaries, particularly when they involve critical national infrastructure such as airports.
When these rules are followed, parties involved will be able to disallow and control election campaigns in such a manner that it will not interfere and be allowed to compromise the security environment of our airports.