Keyamo said he had instructed the relevant aviation bodies under his ministry to hold back from issuing statements or drawing conclusions.

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered aviation agencies to refrain from making public comments or taking sides in the heated dispute between Air Peace and former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, over the latter’s unruly behaviour at the Lagos airport on Wednesday.

SaharaReporters broke the news of how the Senator representing Edo North senatorial district, on Wednesday, forced the closure of the Zulu Terminal at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos after arriving late for his flight to Abuja.

SaharaReporters gathered from credible sources at the airport that Oshiomhole blocked the entrance to the Zulu Terminal of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) after arriving at the terminal well past the scheduled departure time of his flight.

Oshiomhole was scheduled to travel on an early morning Air Peace flight. His departure time for the flight to Abuja was 6:30 am.

In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, Keyamo confirmed that he had been “in direct contact with both parties since that morning” and urged restraint while investigations continue.

The clash has dominated public discourse, sparking a series of accusations and counteraccusations.

Without naming names or assigning blame, Keyamo said he had instructed the relevant aviation bodies under his ministry to hold back from issuing statements or drawing conclusions.

“I also directed the aviation agencies to exercise restraint in jumping to conclusions in line with the time-honoured legal principle of ‘hear all sides’ before reaching judgment,” he wrote.

The minister also appeared to criticise the increasingly public spat between the airline and the senator, urging both sides to cool tempers and allow facts to emerge through proper channels.

“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,” Keyamo said.

Oshiomhole had criticised Air Peace for denying him access to board a scheduled flight to Abuja, claiming he had completed the online check-in process ahead of time.

Addressing journalists during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday evening, Oshiomhole expressed frustration over what he described as unprofessional conduct by airline staff at the airport.

He alleged that, although he had checked in online for a 6:30 a.m. flight along with two Ghanaian colleagues, he was barred from boarding upon arrival at the terminal shortly after 6:00 a.m.

According to Oshiomhole, Air Peace staff informed him that the boarding gate had been closed, even though he had no luggage and had presented evidence of his check-in. He also accused the airline of racketeering and unethical treatment of passengers. 

Reacting, Air Peace refuted allegations of passenger extortion levelled by Oshiomhole.

The airline called his claims “deliberate falsehood” and accused him of inciting disruption at a Lagos airport terminal after arriving late for a flight.

In a statement issued by the airline’s management on Thursday, Air Peace described the former Edo State governor’s accusation as “blatant lies,” challenging him to provide evidence of a single passenger who was extorted.

Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that sources familiar with the matter revealed that aviation regulatory authorities had been directed not to sanction Senator Oshiomhole or issue any public statements on the incident.

This directive came despite indications that the lawmaker’s conduct may have breached multiple aviation regulations and contravened international best practices.

According to insiders, Oshiomhole’s actions were in violation of provisions in Annex 17 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Act of 2022, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations Act 17, as well as relevant sections of Nigeria’s anti-terrorism laws.