Minister seeks decisive action on ‘Open Skies’
Speaking on the sidelines at the just-concluded African Air Transport Expo 2026, organised by the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) in Lomé, Togo, the Minister participated in two high-level panel sessions focusing on the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and Air Transport Affordability.
Addressing the session on market access and the implementation of SAATM, Keyamo emphasised that the era of merely signing agreements must give way to practical measures that guarantee unrestricted air connectivity across the continent.
“We must move from signatures to actual traffic rights. Over the next 24 months, Nigeria will streamline permits for African carriers, align air agreements, and lead the Banjul Accord Group (BAG) to progressively treat West Africa as a unified domestic market,” he declared.
The Minister noted that enhanced market access remains critical to achieving the African Union’s vision of a connected continent, stressing that seamless air transport would boost trade, tourism, investment and regional integration.
On the issue of air transport affordability, Keyamo reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to reducing the cost burden on airlines and passengers, describing aviation as a strategic economic enabler rather than a source of excessive government revenue.
“Aviation is an economic enabler, not a revenue collection point. Nigeria is aggressively driving down costs through a 30% discount on statutory fees for domestic operators approved by Mr President, transitioning toward VAT neutrality, and auditing duplicate levies,” he stated.
The Minister further challenged African governments and industry stakeholders to focus on measurable outcomes rather than declarations and communiqués.
“The real test of our success is no longer how many declarations we adopt, but how many African routes we open, how many restrictions we remove, and how many passengers actually benefit,” Keyamo said.
His intervention was widely applauded by participants, who viewed Nigeria’s commitments as a significant step towards accelerating SAATM implementation and creating a more competitive, accessible, and affordable air transport ecosystem across Africa.
The African Air Transport Expo brought together ministers, regulators, airline executives, airport operators, development finance institutions, and aviation stakeholders from across the continent to deliberate on strategies to transform Africa’s aviation sector into a catalyst for economic growth and regional integration.
This is coming as Africa’s Transport/Aviation Ministers also recognised the central role of the African Civil Aviation Commission as the Executing Agency of the Yamoussoukro Decision and SAATM, and as the African Union’s specialised agency for civil aviation.
The adoption of the Lomé Ministerial Declaration and Implementation Matrix on Accelerating Accessible, Connected, Affordable and Sustainable Air Transport across Africa marks a renewed continental commitment to accelerate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Single African Air Transport Market.
The Declaration calls for strengthened institutional capacity and sustainable financing to enable AFCAC to support Member States, coordinate implementation, monitor progress and advance Africa’s aviation priorities.
One of the major outcomes of the Lomé Declaration is the launch of the AFCAC Solidarity Commitment 2026-2028, a resource mobilisation initiative aimed at strengthening AFCAC’s capacity to implement its mandate, support Member States, accelerate SAATM implementation and advance continental aviation priorities.
The AFCAC Solidarity Commitment provides a practical mechanism for mobilising direct financial resourcing, technical assistance, in-kind support, capacity-building, tools, systems and project-based support in a transparent, accountable, auditable and results-oriented manner.
