Stop Airport Officials From Begging Travellers For Money, Imo Senator Tells Aviation Minister

The Senator representing Imo West successful the Senate, Osita Izunaso, has urged the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to caution airdrome officials against begging aerial travellers for money, a behaviour helium described arsenic a “national embarrassment.”

Izunaso made the telephone astatine an lawsuit themed “Responsible Communication: The Voice of the World”, wherever Nigeria’s preparations to big the 2026 World Public Relations Forum were unveiled. The lawsuit drew participants from crossed 126 countries.

Commending Keyamo’s ongoing reforms astatine Nigeria’s airports, the lawmaker said that contempt disposable improvements, immoderate unit of the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and different uniformed agencies continued to prosecute successful unprofessional conduct.

“Honourable Minister, a batch has been said astir what you are doing astatine the airport. When you get astatine the airdrome now, you conscionable transportation your container and you determination in. Good work! That is fantastic,” Izunaso said.

“But you besides person to look astatine the personnel, customs, immigration, and each those that enactment astatine the airports. You volition ever perceive screams of ‘Your boys are here, Sir!’ oregon ‘We are greeting you, Sir!’ You know, this does not picture a precise bully representation of our country.”

The lawmaker warned that specified behaviour, including excessive greetings and subtle demands for tips, paints a mediocre representation of Nigeria earlier visiting foreigners.

“For america successful Nigeria, we cognize the meaning of ‘Your boys are here.’ Please archer them determination volition beryllium nary ‘Your boys oregon girls are here.’

“There is simply a mode they volition beryllium looking astatine you that makes you cognize they are asking for thing much than their work,” helium said, adding that the signifier indispensable halt up of Nigeria’s hosting of the planetary event.

However, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr. Ike Neliaku, countered the senator’s remarks, insisting that the aviation assemblage had witnessed important improvements nether Keyamo’s leadership.

“I privation to corroborate that I returned from South Africa and came backmost done the planetary airport. There is simply a batch of improvement. Nobody said ‘Your boys are here’ to me. So, I deliberation Nigeria is changing,” Neliaku said, assuring overseas delegates that the country’s representation was improving.

Backing him, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, praised the reforms astatine Nigeria’s introduction and exit points.

“I privation to admit the Minister of Aviation, the antheral nether whose tenure the introduction and exit constituent of our airports person truly transformed. What we are seeing successful the Ministry of Aviation is genuinely unprecedented. Thank you for making america proud, Mr. Festus Keyamo,” Idris stated.

Also speaking, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, highlighted however exertion was reducing quality interaction and curbing extortion astatine airports.

“We’ve taken judicial announcement of the singular translation that has happened successful our airports. When you get to immoderate of our points of introduction now, each you request to bash is scan your passport, unfastened your eyes to the sunglasses and it captures your details.

“If you person immoderate problem, they volition inquire you to travel down and benignant yourself out. This is what happens everyplace successful the world,” Adeniyi explained.

In his closing remarks, Keyamo assured the assemblage that Nigeria’s airports would beryllium afloat acceptable to big planetary visitors for the 2026 World Public Relations Forum.

“We are going to beryllium acceptable astatine our introduction points, which are really the representation of the country,” Keyamo said.

“We are mounting up a VVIP section astatine each our planetary airports for precise important guests coming into the country. Public relations professionals coming for the forum volition enjoy this fully.”