Why Federal Government Can’t Control Ticket Prices – Keyamo Explains

By: Abudu Olalekan

Airfare Regulation: Why Keyamo Says FG’s Hands Are Tied on Ticket Prices

So, you’ve tried to book a flight lately? Sticker shock, right? Everyone’s feeling it. The Senate is in an uproar. They summoned the Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, to basically say, “Fix this.” Here’s the thing. His answer was pretty straightforward. We can’t.

That’s the core of it. Amidst all the concern, Keyamo stood there after a Federal Executive Council meeting and laid it out. The Federal Government lacks the statutory power to fix airfares. Period. The sector? It’s deregulated. Has been for ages, since way back in the Babangida era. The idea was to get the private sector involved, seamless-like. Now, the government’s hands are pretty much tied.

The Senate isn’t happy. They see a crisis. Senator Abdulfatai Buhari from Oyo North sounded the alarm. Soaring prices threaten how people move around the country. Could ruin festive season travel plans for so many. They called for an urgent meeting with Keyamo and airline bosses. Keyamo acknowledged the summons, sure. But he had a conflict—the FEC meeting. He sent the NCAA and the airlines to go explain themselves.

His stance is rooted in policy. “The government has absolutely no power to fix prices for private enterprises,” he said. “That is what deregulation means.” He was quick to add a caveat, though. “But that does not mean we are leaving the airlines without engagement.” So, it’s not a total free-for-all. There’s talk. There’s pressure. But there’s no price control.

Why are fares so high then? Keyamo didn’t shy from the operators’ struggles. He listed them out. It’s a tough business. Access to aircraft is limited. The lease agreements they get are brutal. There’s no place here to do major maintenance, so planes have to fly out for expensive C-checks, paid for in scarce foreign exchange. Every single one of these factors piles cost onto that final ticket price. It’s a perfect storm.

But, he offered a sliver of hope. A big one, actually. A major international aircraft lessor is coming back to Nigeria. They’ve been gone for nearly twenty years. Their return means a local carrier just got a dry lease at a rate three times cheaper than what was on the table before. That’s huge.

Keyamo’s logic is simple economics. “With cheaper dry leases coming in, more airlines will have access to aircraft. More aircraft automatically means stronger competition. And competition is what brings prices down in any free economy.” So, the fix isn’t a government decree. It’s the market. If this trend continues, prices could ease. Should ease.

Then there’s the tax issue. ECOWAS recently nudged Nigeria, saying all these charges on airlines are a burden. Keyamo confirmed the advisory came in. But he spread his hands. That’s not his lane. “I cannot wake up one morning and abolish taxes,” he noted. Those revenues feed the Federation Account. You’d need the Finance Minister, the tax authorities, everyone in a room. It’s a whole other conversation.

So, where does this leave the frustrated traveler? In a deregulated market. The government’s role, as Keyamo paints it, is to try and ease the underlying burdens—encourage better lease deals, maybe foster maintenance infrastructure—not to set a price cap. The Senate wants action. The public wants relief. But the minister’s message is clear: the law and the policy framework from decades ago took that direct tool out of the toolbox. The solution, if it comes, will be slower. It’ll come from competition, from tackling those root costs. Not from a government fiat. For now, the skies are open market. For better or, as many are feeling right now, for worse.