News Investigators/ Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has solicited international support towards Nigeria’s re-election into part 2 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council.
The minister made the call in Montreal, Canada at the ongoing 42nd Assembly of ICAO – a specialised agency of the UN, established in 1944 to manage and standardise the international civil aviation system for safe, secure, and sustainable air travel.
A statement on the Minister’s position at the assembly was made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja by Mr Odutaya Oluseyi, Head of Press and Public Affairs in the ministry.
In the statement, Keyamo urged delegates to support all African States endorsed by the African Union (AU) into the council.
He expressed Nigeria’s firm commitment to the ICAO’s principles and objectives of safe, secure, and sustainable global air transport.
According to the minister, Nigeria has continued to invest in infrastructure modernisation, regulate reforms and capacity building to ensure its aviation sector meets global standards.
Mr Keyamo added that Nigeria deepened efforts towards contributing meaningfully to regional and international connectivity.
He disclosed that Nigeria would play host to regional safety oversight organisation – the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO).
The minister said, Nigeria remained major contributor to BAGASOO while also supporting the activities of the Regional Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA).
He assured that Nigeria would continue to fulfil its environmental obligation by submitting its state action plan on carbon emission reduction and voluntarily participating in Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
Mr Keyamo congratulated the President of ICAO Council, Mr. Salvatore Sciacchiatano, the Secretary General of ICAO, Mr. Juan Salazar and the entire ICAO Secretariat and the government of Canada for a well-organised 42nd Session of the ICAO Assembly.
He urged the delegates to work together to ensure that the goals of ICAO were achieved, despite the differences in geographical location.
The minister invited the Council to the Nigerian International Airshow taking place in Abuja, from Dec. 2 to Dec. 4, 2025.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the ICAO Council is the governing body of the global organisation, composed of 36 Member States elected by the ICAO Assembly for a three-year term.
The Council is divided into three parts for the purposes of elections, not operational functions.
These parts reflect different categories of States to ensure geographical and functional representation.
The Part 1 of ICAO Council election categories:compose of countries that are the major players in global civil aviation, including U.S., China, France, Germany.
The Part 2 category, which Nigeria is seeking re-election into, includes countries which make the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for international civil air navigation.
Although, the countries might not necessarily be the biggest in terms of air traffic or geographical size, but they contribute significantly to international aviation infrastructure.
Examples of countries elected into this category included, Canada, Egypt, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain and South Africa.
The Part 3 category are for geographical representation to ensure that all regions of the world are represented fairly.
NAN