Nigeria’s leading airline, Air Peace, has issued a strongly worded statement condemning what it described as the “unruly conduct” of Senator Adams Oshiomhole, after he reportedly disrupted airport operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1 (Zulu Hall) on the morning of Wednesday.
The incident occurred around 6:10am when Oshiomhole arrived
at the terminal for Flight to Abuja, scheduled to depart at 6:30 am. According
to Air Peace, the boarding process had already closed in line with its strict
on-time departure policy, and the flight departed as scheduled.
The airline alleged that upon being informed he had missed
the flight, the senator became physically aggressive, assaulted airline staff,
and blocked the terminal entrance, preventing other passengers from accessing
the departure hall.
“Upon being informed of the missed flight, the politician
resorted to violence, physically assaulting our staff and forcefully
barricading the terminal’s entrance. He went as far as sealing the entry gate
and manning the access point, effectively obstructing other passengers from
gaining entry into the terminal,” Air Peace said.
The disruption reportedly caused significant delays for
other passengers. In response, the airline activated a contingency plan to
reroute travelers through an alternate terminal to minimise the chaos.
Air Peace expressed disappointment that a public figure of
Oshiomhole’s stature could act in a way they described as unbecoming and
disruptive.
“We are deeply saddened that such a high-profile figure
displayed conduct so unbecoming and disruptive to fellow passengers and our
personnel. Air Peace maintains a zero-tolerance stance on violence or any form
of aggression against our staff and passengers.”
Other late-arriving passengers reportedly acknowledged they
had missed the flight but behaved civilly, with some even questioning whether
Oshiomhole would have acted the same way at an international airport.
The official also explained that the airline had recently
made changes to its schedules after May 12, due to a spike in bird strikes in
Owerri and Port Harcourt. These changes included reducing flight frequency by
50% and placing more aircraft on standby—measures they say have resulted in 98%
on-time performance.
“We changed things May 12 because of bird strikes and other
extraneous factors… Since then, we’ve had 98% on-time performance, and the
competition is jittery,” he said.
Despite the fracas, officials from the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
were said to have witnessed the altercation, with the airline subtly suggesting
that the agencies may have treated the matter too lightly. “They appeared
pleased with him,” the official claimed.
Air Peace has stated that it is preparing formal reports on
the incident to be submitted to the Nigerian Senate, the NCAA, the Department
of State Services (DSS), and other relevant authorities for investigation and
possible disciplinary action.
As of the time of filing this report, Senator Oshiomhole has
yet to issue a public statement addressing the allegations.
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Why do Nigeria politicians feel that they are God and that it is their right to dictate the rules and regulations of private cooperations what they should do. Can Adam Oshiomole travel to America, Britain or Japan and fight aircraft staffs because he missed his flight? He will be arrested on the spot by the police. But, here in Nigeria, he can get away with these uncivilised attitudes because he is a Senator. Was he expecting the aircraft to wait for him because he had other things to do? Airplanes respect their fight schedule all over the world. An airplane can not wait for someone because he has an obstruction to be at the airport on time - be you king, chief, president or the queen. What kind of illiterate people do we have in Nigeria as politicians? Why are some of these politicians feels they can change the narrative everywhere. Because you’ as a Senator, the aircraft must wait till you embark on the plane. What a nonsense. Why should some Nigerians do what they can not do overseas but they tend to do it here in Nigeria. This is ridiculous and unacceptable. I would advise the management of Air peace to establish an inventories of what Oshomole must have destroyed during his altercation with Airpeace staff when he couldn’t board his aircraft for coming late. If he has broken something or injured someone they should sue him for damages and degradation of company assets. It is worrisome that a senator could do this in an Airport, he’s shameless and he is not qualified to be a member of the senate.with this underdeveloped manner.
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