The Nigerian government has approved the establishment of a privately funded aircraft leasing company aimed at easing local airlines' access to aircraft and reducing the country's chronic flight disruptions, aviation minister Festus Keyamo announced.
In a statement, he said the Federal Executive Council on April 30 approved the creation of the Nigeria Aircraft Leasing Company, an incorporated special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will be commercially operated and fully privately funded, with no obligation for direct federal investment.
The government will instead provide sovereign guarantees to international lessors and manufacturers to lower investor risk and facilitate asset repossession, while holding equity through Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).
First announced in November 2025, the leasing company will act as a central vehicle to acquire or lease aircraft globally for Nigerian operators, allowing domestic airlines to lease aircraft through a single entity backed by government support.
Keyamo said the initiative is intended to strengthen local airlines' ability to serve domestic routes, which have been plagued by delays and cancellations, and improve their competitiveness against foreign carriers that dominate the Nigerian market.
USD7 billion initiative
Keyamo has also been appointed "champion" of the African Development Bank's Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa (IATPA), a USD7 billion continent-wide platform aimed at modernising the continent's aviation sector and mobilising investment through a proposed Pan-African Aviation Financing Platform.
A letter of intent between the bank and Nigeria is due to be signed at the lender's annual meeting in Brazzaville on May 28, according to a Nigerian government statement.
It was not immediately clear if, and by how much, the AfDB would bankroll Nigeria's new aircraft leasing company.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the Brazzaville conference, Keyama said: "I should announce for the first time that the African Development Bank has keyed into this initiative, because they have an integrated programme for this kind of thing in Africa, and Nigeria is one of their pilot countries."
Since becoming aviation minister in 2023, Keyamo has been credited with pushing reforms aimed at improving Nigerian airlines' access to aircraft financing, including signing practice directions in September 2024 for the Cape Town Convention to restore lessors' confidence and so lower leasing costs, addressing blocked airline funds, reviewing airport concession plans, and advocating stricter enforcement of bilateral air service agreements to support local carriers.
The AfDB has already begun supporting aircraft financing initiatives, most notably through a January 2026 letter of intent with Air Côte d'Ivoire to explore affordable aircraft acquisition financing for African airlines under the IATP. The arrangement includes work on financing structures for fleet acquisition and renewal, alongside training and sustainability programmes, and has been described as an early milestone of the bank’s continent-wide aviation strategy.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) planned to launch a pan-African aircraft leasing platform in 2025, but by March 2026 the platform was not yet up and running, according to ch-aviation research.
African airlines in general face high leasing costs due to their weaker currencies, fragmented regulation, weak profitability, skills shortages, blocked funds, and limited intra-African connectivity, which continue to hamper the sector despite Africa’s potential presented in its growing population and urbanisation.
