Aviation and Aerospace Development: What Nigerians Should Expect Under Festus Keyamo’s Watch By Adeboye Adebayo

I am writing this piece as a Nigerian and a Comrade who worked closely with Barrister Festus Keyamo SAN, CON as the Chief Spokesperson during the APC, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential campaigns who is now being saddled with the huge responsibilities of revamping, revitalizing, and turning around the fortune of the Aviation and Aerospace sectors of the Nigerian economy to meet international standards and expectation and also to make it contribute significantly to the gross domestic products of the country.

In my experience with Festus Keyamo so far, I can bet on his capacity intellectually and administratively which are the needed major tools to carry out his newest assignment successfully. He is a successful administrator as is obvious in the running of his private business; Festus Keyamo law firm both locally and internationally, remember, he is a senior advocate of Nigeria and an international arbitrator, a feat that can only be achieved through hard work, fantastic capacity to manage the trio of human, materials and financial resources and the grace of God that is abundant on him.

It is no doubt that the Aviation and Aerospace Development sector of the Nigerian economy needs a man with a high level of patriotism, administrative acumen, and experience to navigate the bureaucracy of government to get the job done efficiently and qualitatively, all of these are embedded in the current minister who was once a member of the federal executive council, he has navigated that route before and nothing be strange to a man who has displayed a high level of patriotism before, who has at many times presented policy documents, defended policies, contributed to policy formulations at the federal executive council meetings and implemented same successfully before through the bureaucracy of government, nothing can be strange to such an experienced man.

In view of all of this, Nigerians should rest assured that the sector is in a safe, sound, and capable hand. Under the new minister, the aviation and aerospace sector will witness policy directions with innovations, digital control, and huge infrastructural development across the board, with Festus Keyamo, the sector is departing from the days of huge promises and little delivery to promises kept and delivered.

Some of the key factors that tend to drag the sector backward; include huge foreign exchange due to overseas aircraft maintenance, capital flight by airlines because international travel from Nigeria is wholly dominated by foreign airlines, and multiple taxes will be looked into by the brand-new minister. The new Minister will pay adequate attention to the establishment of Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities which will drastically reduce capital flights as a result of Airlines going abroad for maintenance and repairs of aircraft.

Under Keyamo’s watch, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, an internationally rated aviation institution will be uplifted with modern teaching facilities and technological equipment. The College of Aviation will be made to meet the manpower needs of operators in the system by aligning the school’s curriculum with the training needs of operators, the college will also be practical in its operation by going into fact-finding to establish the existing gap in skilled manpower within the industry, then strife to close the gap

According to statistical data, the industry currently contributes 0.5 percent to the nation’s GDP, with the right actions to be taken by the new minister to revamp the sector, the GDP’s contribution will increase in a few years.

The Honourable Minister; Festus Keyamo will work to restructure, redirect, reorientate, and sanitize the ministry and its agencies at the airports for effective and transparent delivery of their duties, devoid of rowdiness but with synergy to implement collectively the vision of government in the sector and also enhance the image of the country and Tinubu’s administration for the new Nigerian brand.

Strict safety processes will be looked into and ensured at our airports under the new minister especially in the area of the production of aviation fuel, supplying and dispensing the products to aircraft. New policies will be formulated along this value chain to ensure the safety of personnel, passengers, and other operators at the airports. Fuel Efficiency will also be ensured as Modern planes are more fuel-efficient which reduces costs and helps protect the environment.

Under the new minister, technology will be used to revolutionize the aviation industry, making flights safer, more efficient, and more accessible than ever before. Technology will be used to improve GPS systems to ensure better and more precise navigation reducing flight times and fuel usage. New technology such as collision-avoidance systems will make flying safer than ever before because Aircraft will be able to detect potential risks and avoid them thereby improving Safety in the sector. Safety, Comfort, and Entertainment of Passengers will be ensured. More technologies will be deployed to make everything faster and smoother for passengers, from check-in to luggage handling, technology will be used to streamline operations.

The new minister will ensure a great collaboration among all the players and operators in the sector to formulate policies and their implementation to attract needed financial investment and put measures in place to guarantee returns on investment, RoI.

Above all, a new era is here in the Aviation and Aerospace sector of Nigeria where advanced technologies like Digital Controls, Automation, Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning will be adequately, effectively, and efficiently deployed to bring about overall quality service deliveries and contribute significantly to the socioeconomic growth and development of Nigeria.

Festus Keyamo’s sleeves are already rolled as he is ever ready and prepared for the job, you watch out.

_Comrade Adeboye Adebayo is the National Director of Media & Publicity, Asiwaju Project Beyond 2023, a Member of the APC Professional Forum, and was a spokesperson for APC, Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council._