You lied, Peter Obi's Aide Contradicts Keyamo's Airport CCTV Footage

The Peter Obi Media Office (POMR) has rejected the account given by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, on the incident involving Peter Obi at the Abuja Airport on Saturday, July 4, accusing the minister of misrepresenting facts and selectively targeting the opposition leader.

In a statement addressed to Keyamo and signed by POMR Spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, the Obi camp said the minister’s version of events was different from the incident Obi narrated, and alleged a pattern of unusual discourtesy towards the former Anambra State governor at airports.

POMR faulted Keyamo’s reference to a police driver, saying Obi does not have any police or civil defence personnel attached to him in Abuja despite being entitled to VVIP protection as a leading opposition figure.

“Mr. Peter Obi does not have a police officer serving as his driver. Your reference to a ‘police driver’ appears to have been based on the assumption that he enjoys the level of security protection ordinarily accorded to someone of his standing. He does not,” the statement said.

The office added that Obi travels through multiple Nigerian airports well over a dozen times every week and that aides have “personally witnessed repeated instances of unusual discourtesy directed at him by some government personnel.”

POMR insisted the incident Keyamo publicised is entirely different from the one Obi spoke about in an interview, noting that in Obi’s account he said “I was there,” while in the minister’s tweet “he was not present.”

It questioned the timeline given by authorities, stating the entire sequence from arrival to the eventual clamping of the vehicle, lasted approximately five minutes.

“At most airports around the world, including major international airports, a ten-minute drop-off window is generally considered acceptable. Where, then, did the claim of 30 minutes originate?” Zekeri asked. 

“Do you not agree that half-truths can sometimes be more misleading than outright falsehoods?”

The statement also alleged that other vehicles were parked in the same area without being clamped, while Obi’s vehicle was singled out.

POMR accused the aviation ministry of double standards, citing the recent airport incidents involving Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1), a known associate of the President.

“Where was this same enthusiasm to instigate public outrage and issue official condemnations? Was CCTV footage from those incidents also released, or was the CCTV system only activated when it involved Mr. Peter Obi?” the statement asked.

It further questioned the decision to publish CCTV footage of Obi’s movements on Keyamo’s personal social media page, describing it as “a serious breach of his personal security.”

“Your footage established no wrongdoing. Instead, you further exposed the movements of a leading opposition figure whose security concerns are already significant,” POMR said.

The group asked if Keyamo would release equivalent CCTV footage of other presidential candidates of Mr. Obi’s standing who travel in private and presidential aircraft funded by taxpayers, and whether a leading presidential candidate should not be accorded security protocols consistent with democratic best practices.

POMR also condemned what it called the unusual hostility and contempt in the minister’s tweet, and questioned his threat to direct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take action against Obi.

“Are you the accuser, the investigator, the judge, and the executioner in the same matter? As Minister of Aviation, are you now positioning yourself as the law itself? Mr Keyamo, are you the Law?” the statement read.

The Obi media office said the matter goes far beyond a clamped vehicle and touches on “equal treatment under the law, the security of opposition figures, the neutrality of state institutions, and the standards expected in a constitutional democracy.

“Nigerians deserve answers to these questions,” it concluded.