The Presidency has defended the Federal Government’s position in the controversy surrounding the clamping of Peter Obi’s vehicle at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, insisting that the former Anambra State governor and his police driver violated airport parking regulations.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the remarks after Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo released the outcome of an inquiry into the incident.
Keyamo says inquiry found no political targeting
According to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the investigation found that Obi’s vehicle was improperly parked during the incident on July 4, 2026.
Keyamo said Obi had already alighted from the vehicle before airport security officials clamped it after allowing sufficient time for it to be moved.
The minister argued that security personnel could not have known the vehicle belonged to Obi and therefore could not have deliberately targeted him.
Minister alleges vehicle was released without paying fine
Keyamo further stated that after the incident was brought to Obi’s attention by the police officer driving the vehicle, the former Labour Party presidential candidate secured the release of the vehicle without paying the prescribed fine.
According to the minister, the action amounted to a security breach.
He has since directed that Obi should pay the ₦25,000 penalty for what he described as illegal and unsafe parking at the airport.
Onanuga backs Keyamo
Reacting in a post on his X account, Onanuga said the minister’s findings contradicted Obi’s earlier claim that he was unfairly targeted by the Federal Government.
According to Onanuga:
“Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo explains how Peter Obi’s car violated parking rules at the Airport, how it was clamped and how Peter Obi peddled his influence to get the car released without paying the mandatory fine.”
He added:
“The Minister’s account of what happened on July 4 at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, completely debunked Obi’s falsehood that he was unduly targeted and persecuted. The truth is that he and his police driver broke a simple parking rule at the Airport.”
The controversy followed Obi’s claim that actions of the Tinubu administration were making his daily activities difficult and affecting his livelihood ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In response, Keyamo ordered an inquiry into the airport incident, maintaining that the findings did not support allegations of political persecution…See More
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