June 28, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has alleged that some private aircraft operating in Nigeria are being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
Keyamo disclosed this on Thursday, in Abuja, when he inaugurated a Ministerial Taskforce Committee to checkmate illegal chartered operations in the country.
While the Minister did not mention the names of the airlines, he said some of those involved in the illegal activities were those who acquired licenses for non-commercial flight operations but went against the stipulated agreement of the licenses.
Keyamo said the illegal activities have made the sector lose billions of dollars and raised serious security concerns.
Addressing the committee members, Keyamo mandated that they take inventory of all non-commercial flight operators, investigate all professional licenses and checkmate their authenticity as well as recommend disciplinary measures against airlines found culpable.
The eight-man committee was chaired by the Chief Executive Office of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, and the committee is expected to report all findings to the Minister within the next three months.
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