The Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema has said domestic airlines operating in Nigeria will crumble if the proposed tax law scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026, is implemented.
Onyema said the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) will engage with President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to explore ways of managing tax laws.
Speaking in Abuja on yesterday on behalf of the Airline Operators of Nigeria at the 100-year celebration of Aviation in Nigeria, Onyema said: “We are going to meet members of the National Assembly very soon, together with our minister to discuss the issues of taxation that are supposed to come into effect on January 1, 2026, as it affects the airlines. Because if it is allowed to stand, all of us will crumble.
But I know Mr. President will listen to our cries and do the needful.”
On how the aviation industry has fared, Onyema said “I want to pay my respect to the zonal and national leaders. Nigeria has never, ever enjoyed the kind of support we are having today in the aviation industry. Please think back to the years before now and compare what we are getting today as airlines.
“We are the ones who truly bear the burden as airlines. We are the ones to tell the story, whether it is good or bad, and no other person can tell it better than the airlines. And here, I represent not just a piece of us; I represent the entire AON as one of their leaders. And when we speak, we speak without fear. We are not afraid to criticise when necessary. We are not afraid to stand up against anything when necessary. And when we must applaud and commend, we do so with equal vigour.
“And today, I want to celebrate our President, and I really do not care whose ox is gored, because this President has helped the aviation industry with the kind of appointment he made. I remember when I met him in the Villa, I told him several times, clearly enough for him to hear and understand that someday, Mr. President, you will thank God Almighty for allowing you to appoint Mr. Keyamo to this position.
“Our industry was almost dead. Nigerian airlines were suffering under a demonised status. We were all demonised as not being effective. We were all demonised as lacking capacity. We were all demonised as if nothing good could come out of us. Nobody had faith in us. The country was made to see us as a very hopeless sector
“Now we have a change the minister has decided that every day of his life, he is out there trying to improve the airlines.”
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the award was in recognition of the contributions of so many people in the past in shaping the aviation industry.
He said: “We thought it fit to honour all the veterans who had held this industry, who had suffered for this industry, who had worked hard to build this industry before we got here. The aeronautic engineers, captains, sky caterers; those who have catered for those flying for us for many years, we honour all of them today.
“We also want to apologise to those we may have omitted; we are not perfect. There are other heroes beyond this list. We’re trying to manage this to 40, but at the end of the day, we still feel we have to have 47 or so, because by the time we published the first list, we realised that so many others were also omitted. So this is a general shout-out to all those who were not mentioned at some other time; we are going to mention them again.
Some of the awardees are: Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, founder of Okada Air; Late Alhaji Ahmadu Dan Kabo, founder of Kabo Air; Capt Robert Hayes, Nigeria’s first certified pilot; Chief Mbazulike Amechi, former Minister of Aviation and instrumental in establishing Nigerian Airways; Chief Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, Air Peace founder, promoted local content and invested in Nigerian youths’ training; Dr Emmanuel Enekwechi, contributed to the aviation industry’s growth; Capt. August Okpe, founder and CEO of Okpe Aviation Services, Nigeria’s first indigenous aviation engineering company.
Others include: Capt Ado Sanusi, Chief Wale Babalakin, Sir Joseph Arumemi, Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, Capt. Dele Ore, Capt Wale Makinde, Capt. Ibrahim Mshella, Capt Dapo Olumide, Ms Bimbo Sosina, Capt.Benoni Briggs, Mrs Deola Olukunle, Dr Thomas Ogunbangbe, Capt. Edward Boyo, Dr Gbenga Olowo, Elder Dr Soji Amusan, Engr Awogbemi Clement, Sen Musa Adede, Georg Eder Mba, Capt. Prex Porbeni, Capt. Chinyere Kali, Harold Demure, Akin Olateru, Capt. Felix Iheanacho, and Capt.Peter Adenihun, among others.
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