AfDB, Nigeria sign aviation deal
International Air Transport Association (IATA), in its released data for April 2026, said African airlines grew air cargo by 7.7 per cent when compared to the same period in 2025.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of efforts to support aviation development across Africa.
On a cheery note, AfDB has appointed Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, as the African Champion for its newly launched $7 billion Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa (IATP).
IATA stated yesterday that the growth by the continent’s airlines was bigger than the global average of four per cent within the same period.
It, however, said that despite growth in cargo demand by the continent’s carriers, their capacity decreased by 9.4 per cent compared to 2025 operations.
Commenting on the development, IATA’s Director-General, Willie Walsh, said the global four per cent growth was driven by strong Asia-linked trade flows, despite the complex operating environment within the region.
Walsh regretted that the region witnessed severe disruption at major Gulf hubs due to the war in the Middle East, which had continued to reshape trade routes and constrain capacity on key corridors.
He added: “With dedicated freighters carrying much of the growth, air cargo is once again keeping supply chains moving amid trade disruptions.
“The coming months will test how well the sector can absorb continued geopolitical uncertainty and elevated operating costs.”
Walsh expressed that due to the crisis, global trade contracted in March by 2.1 per cent month-on-month after four consecutive months of growth, highlighting the continued vulnerability of trade momentum to geopolitical shocks.
He also noted that Jet fuel prices rose sharply in April, up 121.1 per cent year-on-year, alongside a 77.7 per cent increase in crude oil prices.
KEYAMO signed the agreement with AfDB on behalf of Nigeria during a dialogue session with the President and Governors of the AfDB in Brazzaville, Congo, yesterday.
According to a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, the minister attended the meeting in his capacity as the African Champion of the IATP.
During the session, the minister highlighted opportunities presented by the bank’s $7 billion aviation programme for Africa and Nigeria.
“The Minister unveiled President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the aviation sector and rolled out the potential of the sector, especially the newly approved Nigeria Aircraft Leasing Company, and why the bank should mobilise capital to support it,” the statement reads.
Keyamo said the initiative could serve as a model for other African countries, adding that Nigeria had taken steps to support the project through the domestication of the Cape Town Convention, updates to the Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation framework and reforms in aviation insurance policies.
The statement added that the AfDB President expressed support for the programme and pledged commitment to its implementation in Nigeria and across Africa.
It noted that Keyamo also unveiled Nigeria’s Country Compact for the aviation sector during the event.
During the signing of the LoI with AfDB at Congo Brazzaville yesterday, the minister said the appointment positions Nigeria at the forefront of a continent-wide aviation renaissance aimed at unlocking Africa’s vast air transport potential through strategic investments, policy coordination, and infrastructure modernisation.
Keyamo described the role as a historic mandate to drive the long-awaited transformation of Africa’s aviation sector and accelerate the continent’s integration into the global air transport economy.
