Aviation tax removal requires govt consensus, says Keyamo

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has stated that the removal of taxes in the aviation sector cannot be decided by one individual, noting that such policies are subject to collective government approval and legislative review.

He said this at an event in Abuja on Monday, celebrating 100 years of aviation in Nigeria. The minister clarified that despite industry pressure over multiple taxation, tax removal lies beyond the jurisdiction of the aviation ministry alone. He stressed that statutory levies require input from key institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, tax authorities, and the National Assembly.

“You can see that I am not the owner of Nigeria. There’s a Ministry of Finance. There’s a tax authority. The Minister of Aviation cannot wake up overnight and say, I’m removing taxes. It’s a whole ecosystem, a whole government system that will meet on that. Some of these things are statutory; they are laws already.”

He explained that the legislature must also deliberate on tax adjustments before they can be enforced. According to him, President Bola Tinubu has already shown commitment to addressing tax burdens in the industry.

“The National Assembly will be involved too, to remove some of these from the laws. But let me tell you, Mr President himself is so proactive. For the laws that are not taking place, for example, the tax law that was about to take place, he immediately excluded aviation, the four percent tax. The money could have been higher.”

Keyamo added that a review process is now in motion to tackle multiple taxation affecting airline operations.

“The President has set up a team to review all of these multiple taxations. And so we are getting the ball rolling.”

He maintained that the minister alone cannot abolish statutory taxes. “I, as aviation minister, cannot stand up overnight and remove this tax, because I’m not the owner of Nigeria. I’m not the owner. It’s the federal government that owns this money. So we are getting there.”