The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has described Nigeria’s record 91.45 per cent Effective Implementation score in the 2026 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Coordinated Validation Mission as a new baseline for the country’s aviation sector rather than an endpoint.
Keyamo made the declaration on Tuesday in Abuja while opening the 35th Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Annual General Assembly, 76th Board and Committee Meetings, Regional Conference and Exhibition.
The minister said the outcome, which he described as Nigeria’s highest-ever result and above the global average, demonstrated the impact of sustained regulatory reforms, professional commitment and collaboration among aviation institutions.
According to him, however, the country must not become complacent with the achievement.
“This achievement demonstrates that sustained reform, professional commitment and institutional collaboration can deliver measurable results. Let me be clear, however, that 91.45 per cent is not our destination. It is our new baseline. We must continue to raise the bar,” he said.
The ACI Africa gathering, which brought together airport Chief Executives, aviation regulators, investors, development partners and other industry stakeholders from across Africa and beyond, is being held under the theme, “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience.”
Keyamo said the theme was particularly relevant as African aviation faces the need to accommodate rising passenger traffic while ensuring that airports become safer, more efficient, financially sustainable, passenger-friendly and resilient.
He said ACI Africa, which represents 64 members in 51 countries and about 250 airports, had an important role to play in shaping the future of aviation on the continent through collaboration, knowledge-sharing, advocacy and professional development.
“The airport of the future cannot simply be a larger terminal building. A next-generation airport must be safe, efficient, financially sustainable, technologically enabled, environmentally responsible and capable of adapting to disruption,” the minister said.
He noted that recent years had exposed the vulnerability of aviation infrastructure and operations to pandemics, geopolitical tensions, economic shocks, climate-related events, cyber threats and infrastructure disruptions.
According to him, resilience must therefore be incorporated into airport design, systems, business models and institutional structures rather than treated as an afterthought.
Keyamo urged African airports to embrace digital transformation, smarter infrastructure, data-driven decision-making and innovative commercial models, while ensuring that technological advancement did not undermine the human element of aviation.
“The passenger must remain our ultimate measure of success. A smart airport must also be a welcoming airport,” he said.
He also argued that airports should no longer be viewed simply as facilities for aircraft arrivals and departures, but as economic ecosystems capable of generating employment, supporting tourism and logistics, attracting investment, facilitating trade and connecting businesses to markets.
On Nigeria’s aviation development, the minister said the Federal Government was implementing reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen safety, infrastructure, investment, connectivity and aviation’s contribution to the national economy.
He highlighted the ongoing rehabilitation and expansion of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Terminal 1 in Lagos as one of the major interventions aimed at transforming the facility into a more modern, efficient and passenger-centred international gateway.
“This is not merely about concrete, steel and glass. An airport is a country’s front door. When a visitor arrives, the airport is often the first physical expression of the nation that visitor encounters,” Keyamo said.
He added that the government wanted Nigerian airports to project “efficiency, dignity, hospitality and confidence”.
The minister further disclosed that Nigeria was encouraging greater private-sector participation in airport infrastructure and services, while maintaining safety, security, service and public-interest standards.
He said the government was also supporting the development of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) capacity, aircraft leasing, cargo infrastructure and other segments of the aviation value chain.
“Our ambition is straightforward: Nigeria should not merely consume aviation services. We must increasingly produce aviation value. And we believe Africa should do the same,” he said.
Keyamo also called for stronger intra-African air connectivity, noting that it should not be easier to travel from an African city to a destination outside the continent than to travel between two African cities.
He said stronger connectivity would require commercially viable airports, appropriate regulatory frameworks and closer cooperation among governments, airlines, airport operators and other stakeholders.
The minister identified the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) as an important framework for improving connectivity, while noting that the African Continental Free Trade Area had created a larger economic space that aviation needed to help integrate.
“When African airports connect Africa more effectively, Africa becomes smaller, and opportunity becomes larger,” he said.
On passenger experience, Keyamo said technologies such as biometrics, artificial intelligence, automation and data analytics should ultimately be judged by whether they make air travel safer, easier, faster and more dignifie
“We must therefore build smart airports with human hearts,” he said.
The minister also called for greater collective action among African airports, saying no country or airport could resolve the continent’s aviation challenges alone.
He commended the President of ACI Africa, Fabrice Grondin, Secretary General, Ali Tounsi, the Board and Committees for their leadership, while acknowledging Nigeria’s contribution through the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Olubunmi Kuku, who serves as Vice-President of ACI Africa.
Keyamo urged delegates to ensure that the Abuja conference produced tangible outcomes rather than ending with speeches and meetings.
“Let Abuja 2026 be remembered not simply for the speeches delivered or meetings held, but for the partnerships created, investments initiated, ideas implemented and commitments fulfilled,” he said.
“Let discussions at this conference become policies. Let partnerships become projects. Let innovation become everyday practice. And let resilience become a design principle for every airport we build or transform.”
He said Africa possessed the market, population, geography, tourism assets and entrepreneurial energy needed to develop a stronger aviation industry, but required the right infrastructure, policies, connectivity and institutional capacity to translate those advantages into sustainable economic value.
The minister said the Nigerian government remained committed to working with ACI Africa, ACI World, African governments, airport operators, airlines, regulators, investors and development partners to build a safer, competitive, sustainable, innovative and resilient aviation sector.
“When our airports perform better, our economies perform better. When our airports become more resilient, our nations become more resilient. And when African airports connect Africa, Africa moves forward together,” Keyamo said.
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