Nigerian Govt Delegation Boards First Direct Brazil–Nigeria Flight Operated By Air Peace

The Nigerian government has announced the commencement of direct commercial flights between Brazil and Nigeria, a move officials say will slash travel time and costs by almost 50 percent.

On Tuesday, a Nigerian delegation boarded the inaugural flight from São Paulo to Lagos, operated by Air Peace.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who was part of the delegation, described the new route as one of the “fruits” of President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to Brazil.

He made the remarks in a video shared by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

Keyamo said: “We are happy to report today that the visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Brazil resulted in the immediate route today. Today is the first test flight from Brazil directly to Nigeria.

“A flight that should have taken about 20 hours either to Europe or to the Middle East. We are going directly to Nigeria, thanks to Air Peace. We are happy to have the CEO of Air Peace, who has made this possible.

“He is also one of the biggest trade partners we have with Brazil. These are the fruits of the visit and the effort of the President Tinubu to open up the relationship with Brazil.

“Brazil is the largest economy in South America. Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa. So, we need to enjoy that so much.”

The Nigerian government previously announced an agreement with Brazil that would see Air Peace launch direct flights from Lagos to São Paulo.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said the agreement was reached during President Tinubu’s recent state visit to Brazil, following talks with his counterpart, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Onanuga noted that the new route represents one of the key outcomes of the bilateral engagements and will further strengthen ties between both nations.

“Increasing the direct connections between Nigeria and Brazil is another essential step to strengthen the ties between our societies,” the statement quoted President Lula as saying.

“We have approved the launch of a direct flight, to be operated by Nigeria’s largest airline company, Air Peace, between Lagos and São Paulo.”

The agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasília in the presence of President Tinubu and President Lula.

Also, the statement noted that Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and Brazil’s Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filhos, signed a Bilateral Air Services Agreement to boost trade and people-to-people ties.

However, many Nigerian tweeps have taken to social media to remind the President Bola Tinubu administration that the current security and economic realities in Nigeria have rendered such a deal almost invalid, as what Nigerians truly need is adequate security and economic emancipation.

According to Nigerians on X (formerly Twitter), the current heightened hardship in Nigeria has made it hard for many Nigerians to travel abroad, as many are struggling to afford daily meals.

An X user, @ImpactLegal007, stated that a vast majority of Nigerians don’t fly, emphasizing that Nigerians require security and economic emancipation at this time.

“While making other countries easily accessible to Nigerians is commendable: A vast majority of Nigerians don’t fly,” @ImpactLegal007 wrote.

“We need security and economic emancipation at this time. The top priority for the Government of the day.”

Among other reactions is that of another X user, @RAREBREEDII, who asked, “How many Nigerians often travel to Brazil?”

@AlobeTunde wrote, “These people don’t take us seriously because they are aware of all the shenanigans going on in our country.”