Aviation Minister, Keyamo Probes Incident Involving Air Peace, Oshiomhole

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has directed aviation agencies to probe the incident involving Air Peace and Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north.

In a post on X on Friday, Keyamo instructed the agencies to gather all relevant evidence and report back to his office.

Air Peace had accused Oshiomhole of disrupting its operations after missing a scheduled flight.

In two videos circulated on X, the senator was seen addressing an official at the airport and also sitting in front of a gate at the Zulu Hall, located at the Murtala Muhammed Airport terminal 1.

In response to the allegations, Oshiomhole said he did not cause any disruption but rather took a stand against what he called extortion and arbitrary policy changes by the airline.

The lawmaker said the airline asked passengers who had checked-in online to pay extra money before boarding.

However, in a counter-response, Air Peace described the claim as “deliberate falsehood”, adding that no passenger was asked to pay money after the closure of check-in.

Speaking on the incident, the minister said he had been in direct contact with both parties since the day of the event.

He urged both parties to exercise restraint in their public exchanges.

“In the wake of the incident at the Lagos Airport last Wednesday involving AIRPEACE Airline and His Excellency, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, I have been in direct contact with both parties since that morning,” Keyamo said.

“Whilst appealing to both sides to halt the public accusations and counter-accusations, I am further directing the relevant aviation agencies to thoroughly look into the issue, collect all available evidence and revert to my office so we can deal with the issue in such a way as to guide future conducts in similar situations.”

The minister also urged the aviation agencies to avoid rushing to conclusions, noting the importance of adhering to the long-standing legal principle of listening to all parties before reaching a judgement.