Keyamo clarified that the removal of taxes is not a unilateral decision within his power but a complex statutory process requiring the alignment of the Ministry of Finance, federal tax authorities, and the National Assembly.
The Legislative Hurdles to Tax Relief
Speaking on the sidelines of the event celebrating 100 years of aviation in Nigeria, the Minister sought to temper expectations regarding immediate fiscal changes. He emphasized that the aviation ecosystem operates within the broader framework of Nigeria’s federal laws.
“You can see that I am not the owner of Nigeria. There’s a Ministry of Finance. There’s a tax authority,” Keyamo explained, underscoring that statutory levies are codified in law and cannot be erased by a mere ministerial directive. “The Minister of Aviation cannot wake up overnight and say, ‘I’m removing taxes.’ It’s a whole ecosystem, a whole government system that will meet on that.”
He elaborated that any adjustment to fiscal policy requires legislative deliberation. However, he assured stakeholders that the current administration is not deaf to their plight. Keyamo noted that President Bola Tinubu has established a specialized team to review the gamut of multiple taxations stifling the industry.
As evidence of this proactive stance, Keyamo highlighted a recent intervention where the President excluded the aviation sector from a looming tax law that would have imposed a four percent levy. “The money could have been higher,” he noted, suggesting that the administration is actively shielding the sector where possible while the review process is underway.
The "Big Elephant": Infrastructure Deficits
While taxation dominates the public discourse, Keyamo argued that the most significant impediment to the growth of Nigerian airlines is the severe lack of modern infrastructure. He posited that without upgrading Nigeria’s airports into fully functional transit hubs, domestic carriers cannot compete effectively on the global stage.
The Minister painted a picture of missed opportunities, specifically regarding international transit passengers. Currently, Nigeria’s major gateways lack the facilities to process passengers seamlessly from one international flight to another without requiring them to officially "enter" the country through immigration.
“The big elephant in the room is infrastructure,” Keyamo stated. “We need to convert our major gateways to proper hubs where you can fly in, go through a process of processing... into another wing, and then you board again and fly out.”
He used the example of Air Peace to illustrate the economic potential of such hubs. If the infrastructure allowed, a passenger flying from London to South Africa could use Lagos as a connecting point.
“You don’t need to come to Lagos [city],” he explained. “We need that facility to process you into the next wing, and you board the same Air Peace, you are connecting to South Africa.”
Finance and Market Potential
Beyond infrastructure and taxes, the Minister identified access to capital as the second critical hurdle. He stressed the need to empower airlines with access to credit and favorable terms for aircraft leasing. According to Keyamo, the problem is not a lack of traffic—Nigeria’s population and geographic location provide a massive natural market—but rather the financial and structural capacity to serve that market.
The Broader Fiscal Context
The Minister’s comments come at a time of significant fiscal restructuring in Nigeria. The federal government recently passed a new tax reform law aimed at consolidating various statutes to widen revenue generation and reduce administrative redundancy.
However, this broad reform has caused anxiety within the aviation sub-sector. Operators have expressed deep concerns over the potential removal of long-standing exemptions, specifically regarding duties on aircraft parts and Value Added Tax (VAT) on air tickets. The industry fears that without specific protections, these reforms could counteract the growth the government hopes to foster.
Despite these challenges, Keyamo maintained a tone of optimism, reiterating that the "ball is rolling" on the review process and that the government is committed to leveraging Nigeria’s demographic advantages to build a robust aviation hub.