Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has denied allegations of disrupting Air Peace operations, insisting instead that he rejected preferential treatment and took a stand against what he described as systemic extortion and poor customer service by the airline.
Air Peace had earlier on Wednesday accused Oshiomhole of disrupting airport operations after allegedly missing a scheduled flight.
The airline claimed the former Edo State governor arrived late for Flight P47120, scheduled to depart Abuja at 6:30 am on Wednesday.
But, addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Oshiomhole described his recent experience with Air Peace as symptomatic of a wider disregard for passengers’ rights in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Speaking with documented evidence and videos, the Senator said he arrived at the airport at 6:10 pm for a 6:50 pm flight on Tuesday, only to be denied a boarding pass, even though he had met the airline’s 30-minute check-in deadline.
“I got to the airport 40 minutes early. My luggage had already been checked in, but they told me they had stopped issuing boarding passes. Meanwhile, I saw others arriving after me who were allowed to board,” he said.
Despite holding business class tickets for himself and an aide, who was eventually allowed to board, Oshiomhole said he was turned away.
He lamented what he called the arbitrary enforcement of airline policies, which left him with a hotel bill of N1.5 million to accommodate himself and two stranded Ghanaian passengers.
Attempting to fly with Air Peace the following morning, Oshiomhole said he arrived before 6:00 am for a 6:30 am flight, having checked in online the previous night at 7:46 pm. However, he was again denied boarding, alongside other passengers, following a sudden change in the check-in policy from 30 minutes to 45 minutes before departure.
“I got there at about five minutes past six. They told me the counter had closed. I showed them evidence of my online check-in. Even after confirming I had no luggage, they still said boarding was closed—yet others were being allowed in,” he explained.
“So I asked, ‘How can you close boarding for a 6:30 flight at 6:05? What is the purpose of online check-in if it isn’t honoured?”
Oshiomhole cited the experience of another passenger, a woman with a baby, who had bought her ticket online for N146,000 and arrived at 5:55 am, but was told she was late. She was denied boarding and offered a seat on the next flight, available only after purchasing a new ticket for N250,000.
“This is not enforcement of policy—it’s extortion,” he said.
Rejecting the airline’s claim that he disrupted operations, Oshiomhole said he remained calm but firm and only intervened after seeing women with babies and other passengers being denied boarding despite meeting check-in requirements.
“I didn’t disrupt anything. I refused to let them ‘sort me out’ while others were stranded. They offered to help me once they recognised me, but I declined. I said, ‘Don’t help me—enforce my rights like every other Nigerian.’”
He condemned what he called a “VIP culture of impunity,” where influential individuals are offered backdoor solutions while ordinary Nigerians suffer.
“That’s the real problem—big men get sorted, and others are ignored. If speaking out makes me a troublemaker, then I’ll cause trouble forever.”
Oshiomhole described how security personnel, including DSS and Air Force officers, later intervened and offered the woman a seat on the next flight—but only after she paid N109,100 on top of her original fare, bringing the total cost to over N255,000 for a one-hour flight.
“I followed her to the counter. People around me urged me not to leave. I eventually had to send her N500,000 so that she could travel. Others in the same situation were left stranded unless they could afford another ticket.
“Even when an officer offered me access to a lounge, I stayed with the passengers. This isn’t just bad service; it’s institutionalised abuse of citizens.”
He criticised the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for what he called lax oversight and urged the federal government to take action.
“How can you profit from your own inefficiency? This is ruthless, primitive capitalism. Nigerians are unprotected, and the government must act.”
Oshiomhole warned that continued injustice and exploitation in essential services could lead to deeper public anger and unrest.
“When people lose hope, bullets won’t stop them. The least a government can do is to protect its citizens from exploitation,” the former governor stated.
