The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has admitted Enugu Air as Member, extending the Association’s membership base in Nigeria’s fast-growing domestic aviation market and reaffirming AFRAA’s commitment to supporting the continued development of African carriers across the continent.

This was announced by AFRAA in Nairobi on Wednesday, making Enugu Air the 50th Member of the association, joining the AFRAA airline fraternity, collectively representing more than 85 per cent of total international traffic carried by African airlines.

Speaking on the development on Thursday, AFRAA Secretary General, Mr Abdérahmane Berthé, said, “We are delighted to welcome Enugu Air into the AFRAA fraternity.

“As a state-backed carrier serving Nigeria’s rapidly expanding domestic market, Enugu Air represents the kind of homegrown investment that is vital to building resilient air connectivity across our continent.

“We look forward to supporting the airline through the IOSA certification process and to its continued growth within the AFRAA membership, as we work together to advance the cause of unified African skies.”

Reacting to the development on Thursday, the CEO of Enugu Air, Capt Tolu Ita, described the admission into AFRAA as a major milestone in the airline’s short history.

“We are honoured to join the AFRAA fraternity. This membership underscores Enugu Air’s commitment to safe, reliable, and affordable air travel for Nigerians while contributing to the vision of a unified African aviation market.

“We look forward to collaborating with fellow AFRAA members and leveraging the association’s support as we grow our network and pursue IOSA certification,” Tolu stated.

Founded on July 7, 2025, Enugu Air commenced commercial operations with a fleet of Embraer E170/E190/E195 aircraft.

The airline, which has its headquarters in Enugu and operates from the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, currently serves nine domestic destinations including Enugu, Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Benin City.

As part of the airline’s growth strategy, Enugu Air plans to expand further across Nigeria and, in subsequent phases, to launch regional and international routes across Africa, Europe, and beyond.

As part of its growth strategy, Enugu Air plans to expand further across Nigeria and, in subsequent phases, to launch regional and international routes across Africa, Europe, and beyond.

The admission of Enugu Air aligns with AFRAA’s strategic priorities and strengthens the voice of the association. Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous nation and one of its fastest-growing economies, remains central to the realization of a truly integrated African aviation market.

Meanwhile, AFRAA association, which was founded in Accra, Ghana, in April 1968, and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has a mission meant to promote, serve African Airlines and champion Africa’s aviation industry.

The association envisions a sustainable, interconnected and affordable air transport industry in Africa, where African airlines become key players and drivers of African economic development.

AFRAA membership cuts across the entire continent and includes all the major intercontinental African operators.

The association’s members represent over 85 per cent of total international traffic carried by African airlines.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has rejected calls for the Federal Government to publish details of how it plans to spend funds drawn from its $5bn financing facility with First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Oyedele said the transaction had been subjected to unnecessary scrutiny, arguing that the facility was approved by the National Assembly and was structured to help the government refinance more expensive debt.

He spoke on Wednesday during a media briefing in Abuja.

The Federal Government recently drew about $1.5bn, the first tranche of the $5bn Total Return Swap facility arranged with First Abu Dhabi Bank, despite concerns from the International Monetary Fund and Fitch Ratings over the transparency and risks associated with such financing structures.

The $5bn facility was approved by the National Assembly on March 31, 2026, while the initial drawdown was expected to support the 2026 budget, infrastructure projects and the refinancing of existing debt obligations.

Responding to a question on the borrowing plan and whether details of the First Abu Dhabi Bank transaction would be made public, Oyedele said the government would publish information on how it spends public funds but questioned why the particular facility was receiving special attention.

“We will not publish how we are spending it. We will publish how we spend government money. There’s nothing special about that loan,” he said.

He added, “Nobody has asked us whether we’re going to publish the money we took from the World Bank, whether we publish the one from Eurobond, whether we publish the one from Sukuk. Why is this one special?”

Oyedele also dismissed suggestions that the transaction was conducted without due process, noting that it had been presented to the National Assembly.

“The loan was approved not only by FEC, it was taken to National Assembly because what some people are doing is they comparing with other countries where they did it under the table.

“What else can be more public than what you gave to the National Assembly?” he said.

The minister said the government had assessed the transaction carefully and was accessing the funds in phases to avoid incurring unnecessary costs.

“We’re assessing it in phases. You don’t want to take all the money at once because if you don’t spend it at once, you incur cost on the extra amount you’ve taken,” he said.

He explained that the financing arrangement was different from Nigeria’s traditional fixed-rate borrowing because the First Abu Dhabi Bank facility had a flexible interest rate.

“You need to understand the transaction. You know, there’s always the textbook analysis and there’s the real life of what you’re doing.

No fewer than 146 candidates currently in the race for the 2027 presidential and governorship elections could collectively spend up to N571bn under the campaign expenditure limits prescribed by the Electoral Act 2026.

The figure comprises 19 presidential candidates, each with a campaign spending ceiling of N10bn, and 127 governorship candidates, each allowed to spend a maximum of N3bn under Section 92 of the new Electoral Act.

The 19 presidential candidates alone have a combined spending ceiling of N190bn, while the 127 governorship candidates could collectively spend up to N381bn.

The combined ceiling for the two categories therefore stands at N571bn, although the amount represents the maximum permissible expenditure and not money guaranteed to, or actually received by the candidates.

The development comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission published the personal particulars and credentials of the 19 presidential candidates and their running mates ahead of the 2027 poll, paving the way for the commencement of the presidential campaign on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

According to the election tracker NGelections.com, 127 candidates across 28 states will be running for governor in 2027. Of the number, 122 have been nominated, four have declared, and one is still being monitored.

A check on the INEC website showed that the commission had yet to publish the total number of 2027 governorship candidates, with its official 2027 election page stating under the list of candidates that “This will be available soon.”

INEC has confirmed that governorship elections will be held in 28 states in 2027, with Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun excluded because they are on the off-cycle schedule.

The commission had fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.

New spending limits

Section 92 of the Electoral Act 2026 substantially raises the amount candidates are permitted to spend on election campaigns compared with the previous statutory limits.

Under the new law, a presidential candidate may spend up to N10bn, while a governorship candidate is limited to N3bn.

For the National Assembly, the ceiling is N500m for a senatorial candidate and N250m for a House of Representatives candidate.

A candidate seeking election to a State House of Assembly may spend up to N100m, the same ceiling prescribed for an Area Council chairmanship candidate, while the maximum campaign expenditure for an Area Council councillorship election is N10m.

The law also places a ceiling on individual contributions to candidates, providing that no individual donor may contribute more than N500m to a single candidate.

Section 92 further provides sanctions for candidates who knowingly exceed the prescribed limits.

Such a candidate faces a fine equivalent to one per cent of the permitted expenditure limit, or imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.

The provision makes compliance with the new spending thresholds a statutory obligation rather than a voluntary guideline.

It could not ne confirmed if INEC has successfully prosecuted and secured a conviction against a Nigerian politician specifically for exceeding the statutory election/campaign spending limit.

Also, there is no reported case of a politician or party being prosecuted for exceeding campaign-spending limits.

When asked how INEC would enforce the spending limits, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information/Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, simply stated, ‘’It’s the Commission’s statutory responsibility to monitor the campaign finance of all political parties.’’                                                                                        The anti-graft agencies are expected to collaborate with the INEC in monitoring and enforcing the spending limits.

The restriction on individual donations means that while a presidential candidate can spend as much as N10bn, a single donor cannot contribute more than N500m.

Similarly, a governorship candidate’s N3bn spending ceiling is six times the maximum individual donation.