Private airstrips can’t operate without clearance – Keyamo

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The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has stated that no private plane, including those owned by privileged Nigerians like Bishop David Oyedepo, can leave the country directly from private airstrips without clearance from relevant authorities.

Keyamo made this clarification during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday.

His comments follow recent calls by the House of Representatives to revoke airstrip licenses issued to individuals and private organizations over security concerns.

The House also urged the federal government to suspend issuing new airstrip licenses.

Addressing the concerns, Keyamo emphasized that every flight, whether military or civilian, must comply with clearance protocols. “Oh yes, absolutely,” he confirmed when asked if Oyedepo’s airstrip adheres to the same rules.

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“You must land in an international airport first. Then the Customs, Immigration, and NDLEA will process you before you take off from there to your private airstrip. If you are also flying out, you must land at an international airport. You will go through Customs, Immigration, and all the normal processes before flying out.”

Keyamo stressed that it is impossible to bypass these procedures, stating, “Nobody uses an airstrip for any such purpose without seeking clearance. At every point in time, the authorities must approve.”

On the number of airstrips in operation, the minister revealed, “We have a number of them, more than 40. For the federal airport, we have 23. The state airport has about eight or nine now. And then the airstrips are about 40 or thereabouts. I have been there myself.”