The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said that the Federal Government’s ongoing aviation reforms are aimed at positioning Nigeria as a reliable and competitive destination for aircraft financing and leasing transactions.

Keyamo stated this yesterday, while addressing global aviation financiers, aircraft lessors, legal experts and stakeholders at the General Meeting of the Aviation Working Group in London, United Kingdom.

A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to Keyamo, Tunde Moshood, informed that the minister said the recent reforms within the aviation sector had already improved investor confidence and enhanced access to aircraft financing opportunities for Nigerian carriers.

Keyamo explained that aviation growth in emerging markets such as Nigeria was often constrained by limited access to affordable capital rather than passenger demand.

He maintained that the Cape Town Convention was designed to reduce legal uncertainties, strengthen creditor confidence and lower financing costs globally.

Keyamo noted that Nigeria was among the original signatories to the Cape Town Convention during the diplomatic conference held in Cape Town in 2001 and subsequently domesticated the convention through the Civil Aviation Act.

According to the minister, over 80 per cent of aircraft operating in the Nigerian registry were acquired through lease arrangements, adding that most leased aircraft whose agreements expired had been successfully deregistered and exported without hindrance.

He stated that the development had further strengthened Nigeria’s reputation as a Cape Town Convention-compliant destination.

Keyamo further revealed that Nigeria’s compliance score under the convention improved from 49 per cent to 70.5 per cent in September 2024, following the signing of a new practice direction by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to strengthen legal enforcement mechanisms in aviation-related matters.

The minister added that the operationalisation of the Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA) subsequently raised Nigeria’s compliance score to 75.5 per cent, leading to the country’s removal from the Aviation Working Group blacklist.

He added, “These milestones did not happen by chance. They were driven by targeted regulatory reforms designed to demonstrate the Federal Government’s commitment to implementing the Cape Town Convention both in substance and in practice.”

He noted that the reforms had already started yielding positive results within the aviation financing ecosystem, citing recent successful dry lease transactions involving Nigerian carriers and financing institutions as evidence of renewed investor confidence.

While acknowledging the progress made, Keyamo identified lingering challenges within the aviation financing environment, including customs-related bottlenecks, temporary importation procedures, foreign exchange volatility and inter-agency coordination issues.

He, however, assured stakeholders that the Federal Government was addressing the challenges through coordinated reforms involving regulatory agencies, judicial capacity development and digitalisation initiatives within the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Keyamo also disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the establishment of a Nigerian aircraft leasing company expected to unlock over $1 billion in future fleet financing capacity.

According to him, the proposed leasing company would enable Nigerian airlines to access aircraft on more competitive terms, accelerate fleet modernisation and strengthen operational resilience within the sector.

He maintained that Nigeria’s growing aviation market required a modern, efficient and financially sustainable system capable of attracting long-term and competitively priced investments.