November 18, (THEWILL) — The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has commended the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, for their positive contributions and for taking the aviation industry onto an upward trajectory.
To complement the improvements made by the duo, Tinubu assured that his administration would remain focused on safety, efficiency, and sustainability in the sector.
According to the President, his administration is renewing its commitment to implementing Civil Aviation Policy reforms, embracing renewable energy solutions for airport operations, and developing smart, secure, and customer-friendly terminals.
The President, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Dr George Akume, gave the commendation in his speech at the 2025 FAAN National Aviation Conference (FNAC) held in Lagos at the Eko Hotels and Convention Centre on Monday.
Tinubu pointed out that under his flagship program –Renewed Hope Agenda– significant strides have been achieved over the past two years in the area of infrastructure.
He listed the achievements, including the commissioning of new international terminals in Lagos and Port Harcourt, boosting capacity and service quality. Major rehabilitation works in Abuja, Enugu, Kano, and other airports to meet global safety and efficiency requirements; strengthening of regulatory oversight, with enhanced collaboration between NCAA, ICAO, IATA, and NCAT to elevate industry standards; expansion of cargo, hangar, and MRO facilities in Lagos and Kano to position Nigeria as West Africa’s logistics and aircraft-maintenance hub and development of frameworks for a national carrier, guided by transparency, sustainability, and global best practice.
Explaning further, Tinubu said, “These interventions are building blocks for a modern aviation ecosystem anchored on efficiency, private sector investment, safety, and international competitiveness. Government can not shoulder these responsibilities alone, but shall continue to create an enabling the environment for businesses to thrive.
“The aviation sector in Nigeria is part of the global systems as it must comply with prescribed standards and practices. This dictates that Nigeria must continue to open the windows of opportunity for investment, partnership, and global engagement”, he said.
Emphasising the importance of aviation to the economy, the President said, “Within the continent of African air transport bridges distance, promotes trade, tourism, enhances territorial security, supports food security, humanitarian services, maintenance of peace and fosters unity. Therefore, every runway built, every terminal modernised, and every policy reform implemented contributes directly to regional, sub-regional and national progress.
“Nigeria is a vast country that is geographically located as a regional hub for connectivity. This has informed the policy direction, investment in infrastructure, systems, capabilities and human capital development”, he added.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
