By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, has pledged the Ministry’s full support for Miss World Nigeria, Queen Tamunosoye Karibi-George, as she prepares to represent the nation at the 2026 Miss World Pageant in Vietnam, emphasizing the critical link between aviation and tourism as drivers of national development.
The Minister made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja when he received the Queen and her entourage in audience at his office.
Speaking during the meeting, Keyamo stressed that beauty queens play a strategic role in promoting their countries’ image, culture and tourism potential, adding that aviation and tourism are inseparable sectors that complement one another.
“For us in aviation, the basic duty of a beauty queen is to promote the image of her country and tourism. Without aviation, there is really no tourism, and without tourism, a substantial part of aviation loses its commercial appeal,” he said.
“When you stand on the world stage, you are not just representing yourself; you are promoting Nigeria.”
The Minister recalled the historic achievement of former Miss World, Agbani Darego, who brought global recognition to Nigeria twenty-five years ago, and expressed optimism that Queen Tamunosoye possesses the qualities to make the nation proud once again.
“I attended the pageant not in my capacity as a representative of the Federal Government, but because of my longstanding relationship with the Silverbird Group, who had earlier this year honoured me as their Minister of the Year,” Keyamo explained. “It was a very tight contest and you emerged deserving of the crown.”
“I believe that after Agbani Darego, we now have another very promising prospect on the world stage. We want to do everything within our powers in aviation to support you because this is also about promoting Nigeria’s image and tourism.”
Earlier in the meeting, Team Lead, Prince Iwefa Aganaba, expressed appreciation to the Minister for granting the audience despite his busy schedule. He formally introduced the Queen and members of her entourage, describing the visit as an opportunity to seek the Ministry’s partnership in projecting Nigeria positively on the global stage through the prestigious international pageant.
In her remarks, Queen Tamunosoye Karibi-George thanked the Minister for the warm reception and congratulated him on his achievements in transforming Nigeria’s aviation sector. She appealed for the Ministry’s support towards her participation at the Miss World Pageant, noting that representing Nigeria at the global competition requires significant logistics and institutional backing. She also solicited support for her humanitarian pet project, which she said aligns with the values of service, empowerment and national development.
As part of the Ministry’s support, Keyamo directed the Director of Air Transport Management to coordinate official correspondence to foreign airlines operating in Nigeria, requesting them, under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, to provide return flight tickets for the Queen to travel to Vietnam for the competition.
The Minister further disclosed that discussions would commence with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on the possibility of displaying the Queen’s promotional backdrop at selected international airports across the country to welcome visitors and showcase Nigeria’s representative to the world.
In addition, Keyamo revealed plans to engage Air Peace on the possibility of partnering with the Queen on future international engagements as part of collaborative efforts to promote Nigeria’s tourism potential.
The audience concluded with the presentation of souvenirs and a group photograph, reaffirming the Ministry’s commitment to initiatives that positively project Nigeria’s image, strengthen tourism and showcase the country’s rich cultural heritage through aviation.
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