How Governor Alex Otti Convinced President Tinubu to Upgrade Abia Airstrip into a Full International Airport

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has revealed the behind-the-scenes negotiations that transformed a basic federal airstrip project into a full-scale international airport development for Abia State. Speaking at the official unveiling of two newly acquired Boeing 737-800NG aircraft by United Nigeria Airlines in Lagos, Keyamo credited Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, with using an aggressive counterpart funding strategy to bypass conventional bureaucratic limitations.

According to Keyamo, the federal government had initially identified that Abia State entirely lacked aviation infrastructure and subsequently captured a basic airstrip project for the state within the 2024 fiscal budget.

The Aviation Minister detailed how Governor Otti swiftly intercepted the federal baseline plan to demand a far more ambitious layout for his state:

• The Direct Appeal: Rather than settling for a standard airstrip, Governor Otti approached President Bola Tinubu directly behind the ministry's back. Keyamo recounted Otti's pitch to the President: "Sir, bring the money for the airstrip, I have counterpart funding. I will now make it a full international airport. Don't give me an airstrip, but bring the money. With counterpart funding, I will build a full-fledged international airport in Umuahia."
• Unprecedented Funding Commitments: The President granted the upgrade after Otti committed significant state capital to the project. Keyamo confirmed that the financial partnership has been heavily driven by the state, noting that Abia has actually brought more money to the table than the federal government.
• Current Infrastructure Status: The construction of the runway at the Abia State International Airport in Umuahia has already advanced to an explicit frontline stage under Otti's direct operational guidance.

The ministry's long-term master plan involves positioning United Nigeria Airlines to establish its primary operational hub directly within the upcoming Abia airport upon completion. This will link the dense commercial manufacturing clusters of Aba and Umuahia straight to global trade networks.

Concurrently, Keyamo announced parallel structural overhauls across neighboring regional hubs to complement this logistical expansion:

To resolve broader equipment bottlenecks limiting domestic airlines from capturing a larger share of Nigeria's 16 million annual passengers, Keyamo concluded by announcing that President Tinubu has formally approved the establishment of the Nigerian Aircraft Leasing Company. This state-backed entity will provide solid government guarantees for private dry-lease agreements, allowing local operators to seamlessly sub-lease modern aircraft.