2027: Keyamo to coordinate APC campaign air travel

File: Minister for Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

President Bola Tinubu has appointed the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, as Director of Air Mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress 2027 re-election campaign, with the Managing Directors of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku and Farouk Umar, respectively, named as deputies.

This was contained in a statement signed and made available to The PUNCH on Sunday by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Tunde Moshood.

Under the arrangement, Kuku will serve as Deputy Director I, while Umar will serve as Deputy Director II, bringing aviation-sector leadership and technical expertise into the campaign’s operational structure.

According to the statement, the appointments underscored the strategic importance of air transportation, operational coordination and aviation logistics to the organisation of a nationwide presidential campaign in a geographically extensive country like Nigeria.

In the statement, “The Directorate of Air Mobilisation is expected to play a crucial role in coordinating the campaign’s air-movement requirements, facilitating travel arrangements for designated campaign officials and personnel, and ensuring effective planning for air transportation in support of campaign activities across the six geopolitical zones of the country.”

The statement added that the directorate would work with other campaign structures to ensure effective coordination and efficient use of available logistical resources.

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“Given the scale of the 2027 presidential campaign, the directorate is expected to work closely with other relevant campaign structures to promote seamless coordination, operational efficiency and effective deployment of available logistical resources, subject to applicable aviation regulations and electoral laws,” it stated.

Moshood stressed that Keyamo’s appointment was expected to bring his experience as aviation minister to the campaign’s air-mobilisation operations, particularly in coordinating travel arrangements and addressing the logistical demands of nationwide political activities.

The statement further added that his appointment “brings to the campaign structure the experience of a serving aviation minister who has been at the forefront of policy initiatives aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s aviation sector, improving its international standing and positioning the country as a major aviation hub in Africa.”

On the appointment of the deputies, the statement noted, “The appointment of Mrs Olubunmi Kuku and Farouk Ahmed Umar as Deputy Directors also brings aviation-sector leadership and technical experience into the directorate, strengthening its capacity to address the planning and coordination demands associated with nationwide campaign movements.

“Air transportation is an important component of national campaign logistics, particularly where campaign leaders and officials are required to cover multiple locations within compressed schedules.”

Moshood added that the directorate would support the wider campaign organisation through structured planning, stakeholder coordination, efficient scheduling and appropriate logistical arrangements.