Keyamo demands apology, fine from Peter Obi over airport cla

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has demanded a public apology from the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, over claims that his vehicle was “unjustly” clamped at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, describing the allegation as false. Keyamo, in a statement posted via X.com on Friday, said he ordered an internal inquiry into the incident after Obi alleged that the clamping of his car’s tyres at the airport was part of a “persecution agenda” against him by the Federal Government. “Politics aside, every Nigerian is entitled to fair treatment under the law. I therefore instituted an internal inquiry over the issue,” he said. The minister said the airport was under full CCTV surveillance, a fact he said Obi appeared unaware of. “Luckily enough, the entire Abuja airport is covered by CCTV cameras, real-time, 24/7. But apparently, this fact was unknown to Mr Peter Obi. Otherwise, perhaps he would have been more circumspect before rushing to the media to cry persecution,” he said. According to Keyamo, the recordings showed that Obi’s vehicle, driven by a police orderly, was parked at the domestic wing at about 8.28pm on Saturday, July 4, and left unattended for about 30 minutes before airport security staff clamped the tyres. “At this point, the dutiful airport security staff came over and clamped the tyres of the car. In doing this, contrary to the claims by Peter Obi, nobody was inside the car and so nobody knew whether it was his car,” he said. Keyamo said the vehicle was released without payment of the required fine after Obi called the airport manager directly. “Mr Peter Obi then introduced himself and spoke with the manager, peddled his influence and requested for the release of the vehicle. His vehicle was then released without him paying the necessary fine,” he said. He dismissed Obi’s claim that other vehicles were left unclamped that day. “The excuse which Mr Peter Obi gave that there were other offenders too on that day, which is completely false, cannot be an excuse for an individual aspiring to be President of Nigeria. He must live above board,” he said. Keyamo gave Obi a one-week ultimatum to comply with his demands. “That he tenders an unreserved, public apology to those hardworking, ordinary Nigerian workers at the airport, just doing their jobs dutifully and whom he sought to blackmail as his persecutors. Related News Spain not afraid of France in World Cup semi-final — Yamal Obi welcomes rescue of abducted Oyo schoolchildren, seeks stronger security Airport row: Keyamo gives Obi seven-day ultimatum to apologise “That Mr Peter Obi voluntarily goes back to the airport and pay the appropriate fine of N25,000 for wrongful parking… If these demands are not met within one week, I will be giving the necessary directives to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria to take the next steps against him,” he said. PUNCH ONLINE had earlier reported that Obi had, during an appearance on the “With Chude” podcast last week, alleged that he might not survive to contest the 2027 presidential election, citing what he described as a pattern of government harassment against him and his associates. File: Peter Obi Among the incidents he cited was the airport episode, in which he said his car was clamped while he stood nearby, even as other vehicles parked in the same spot were left untouched. Obi also claimed that some of his associates had grown reluctant to publicly associate with him for fear of government reprisal. The Presidency had earlier dismissed Obi’s persecution claims as false, with the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, describing the airport incident as one that, by Obi’s own account, resulted from a breach of parking rules rather than any government action against him. Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election. He defected to the African Democratic Congress in December 2025 and has since emerged as the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 poll. Watch Video Here : (𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎) 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦𝐨 𝐀𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐎𝐛𝐢 𝐓𝐨 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐍𝟐𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞 Credit: X | Festus Keyamo — Follow us for more breaking news and videos pic.twitter.com/3z4zmFhM46 — Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) July 10, 2026 Faith Alofe