By Omoyeni Ojeifo
Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has been given one week to apologise to airport workers and pay a ₦25,000 fine over the clamping of his vehicle at Abuja airport.
Failure to comply, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, warned, would attract further action from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The ultimatum followed an investigation ordered by Keyamo after Obi alleged he was politically persecuted when his vehicle was clamped at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The directive was contained in a statement issued on Friday, after Keyamo said he had a moral duty to verify Obi’s claim because every Nigerian deserves fair treatment under the law.
“Mr. Peter Obi must tender 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’,” the minister said.
Keyamo said the investigation was based on CCTV footage from the airport, which he noted is covered by real-time surveillance cameras operating 24 hours daily, allowing the ministry to establish what happened.
The minister said Obi appeared unaware of the CCTV coverage, adding that he would have been more careful before going to the media to allege persecution.
He said the footage showed Obi arrived at the domestic wing of the Abuja airport at exactly 8:28 p.m. on Saturday, July 4, 2026, with two other occupants in a vehicle driven by a police officer.
“The time the vehicle was parked unattended to in that prohibited zone was about 30 minutes, which constitutes a security risk at an airport by global best practices.”
According to Keyamo, the vehicle stopped in a designated drop-off zone where airport rules require drivers to remain behind the wheel if they are to stop briefly.
He noted that the police driver initially left the vehicle and entered the terminal without the tyres being clamped. The driver returned at about 8:32 p.m. to retrieve an item before abandoning the vehicle again.
The minister said airport officials clamped the tyres only after the driver walked away the second time, leaving the vehicle unattended in the restricted area.
He maintained nobody was inside the vehicle when it was clamped, meaning officials did not know it belonged to Obi, adding that its ownership would not have affected enforcement of airport rules.
“Mr. Peter Obi voluntarily goes back to the airport and pay the appropriate fine of ₦25,000 for wrongful parking at the airport for which he used influence peddling to bully his way out on that day. He cannot be bigger than the law,” he added.
Keyamo alleged the police driver later called Obi and handed the phone to the airport manager, after which the vehicle was released without payment of the prescribed fine.
He described Obi’s claim that other offending vehicles were ignored as completely false and accused him of reopening a matter airport authorities had already considered closed to score political points.
“What has emerged from this is a clear case of an opposition candidate trying to whip up unnecessary sentiments for a wrong he committed with his driver.”
The minister said CCTV footage of the incident was attached to the statement to enable the public see exactly what transpired.
He warned that if Obi fails to apologise and pay the fine within one week, he will direct FAAN to take the next steps against him.
Persecondnews recalls that Obi in an interview, alleged on Thursday, July 8, 2026, that his vehicle was unfairly clamped at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, over an incident that occurred on Saturday, July 4, describing it as political persecution by the Federal Government.