Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi has been hailed for refusing to board his flight at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja to assist stranded Benin-bound passengers.
KanyiDaily had earlier reported that some angry passengers of Arik Airline had staged a protest on Monday morning by blocking the boarding gate of the Abuja Aiport over a delay of their flights.
It was gathered that Obi, who is a presidential hopeful for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had arrived at the airport enroute to Jalingo to consult stakeholders and party members over his presidential bid.
A Facebook user identified as Valentine Obienyem, who shared details of the happenings, said the former governor was moved by the plight of the travelers and he decided to help them resolve the issues by making some calls, and all the stranded passengers were boarded.
Obienyem wrote: ”And Obi refuses to board his flight in spite. There was a problem at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport this morning. Travellers to Benin refused that any plane should leave the airport until their problem was solved.
”They had been at the airport since yesterday. On recognizing Obi, who was travelling to the North for consultations, they said it was only his flight that they would allow to leave.
”However, Obi refused and had to make a series of calls that solved the problem. Their flight and ours boarded simultaneously as Obi requested. Thereafter, travellers fell over one another taking selfies with Mr. Peter Obi.”
Watch the videos below:
https://twitter.com/MobilePunch/status/1523655726144815107?s=20&t=yHsITF42VqSb5O0ngkbxOg
https://twitter.com/Elkrosmediahub/status/1523630646618640384?s=20&t=yHsITF42VqSb5O0ngkbxOg
https://twitter.com/OselokaHObaze/status/1523590101875388416
The development comes after Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) announced the shutting of flight operations across the country as a result of the high cost of aviation fuel.