AfDB Appoints Festus Keyamo African Champion of $7bn Aviation Transformation Programme
AfDB Appoints Festus Keyamo African Champion of $7bn Aviation Transformation Programme
AfDB Appoints Festus Keyamo African Champion of $7bn Aviation Transformation Programme
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has been formally installed as the African Champion of the African Development Bank’s $7 billion Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa (IATP).
The announcement was made during the AfDB Annual Meetings held in Brazzaville.
The African Development Bank commended Nigeria’s leadership under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and praised the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda as well as ongoing aviation sector reforms aimed at repositioning the industry for growth and development.
The IATP is a continent-wide initiative designed to modernize Africa’s aviation ecosystem, attract private and institutional investment, and improve infrastructure and connectivity across the continent.
According to the AfDB, the programme seeks to address the imbalance in global aviation where African airlines account for less than three percent of global air traffic despite Africa representing nearly 18 percent of the world’s population.
Speaking during the aviation dialogue in Brazzaville after his appointment, Keyamo unveiled Nigeria’s aviation reform agenda under President Tinubu’s administration and highlighted the country’s newly approved Aircraft Leasing Company as a model that could be replicated across Africa.
The minister stressed the importance of strengthening aviation financing, infrastructure development, and regional collaboration to unlock the sector’s full economic potential.
The President of the African Development Bank also reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to the successful implementation of the Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme across Africa, with Nigeria identified as one of the programme’s major focal points.
Observers say the appointment further reinforces Nigeria’s growing influence in Africa’s aviation sector and its role in driving continental transport and economic integration.
AfDB Appoints Festus Keyamo African Champion of $7bn Aviation Transformation Programme
