Aviation prices soar as politicians and expatriates move their families out of Nigeria ahead of elections

FLIGHT prices have risen across and out of Nigeria over the last few weeks as politicians and the wealthy elite step up moving their families out of the country ahead of tomorrow's general elections.

Nigeria goes to the pools tomorrow to elect a president and members of the national assembly and in two weeks, state governors and members of the state houses of assembly will be elected. Over the last few weeks, the political temperature has risen as the polls looms with both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), each accusing each other of dirty tricks.

Among other things, the government has suspended the chief judge of Nigeria Justice Walter Onnoghen, raising the political temperature, while the Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai warned foreign election observers that they will leave in body bags if they intervened in the elections. Earlier this week, the chief of staff in the presidency Abba Kyari, also accused the US, UK and European Union of having a vested interest in the outcome of the elections.

With the temperature rising, many politicians, wealthy Nigerians and expatriates have decided to fly their families out of the country, prompting a rise in air prices. Between January and the first week in February, many prominent families had bought tickets to travel out of the country, with leading destinations including Dubai, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

One travel agent said: “Many prominent families have been buying tickets to travel out since the beginning of the year. Once it is election time, most politicians send their families out of the country or they just move to places where they cannot be reached easily.”

He, however, added that the fact that they were buying international flight tickets did not mean they would eventually travel out of the country. According to the agent, such families sometimes buy the tickets but stay in secluded places within the country until elections are over.

Olumide Ohunayo, the director of research at Zenith Travels, added: “There is a huge divide between the supporters of the two major presidential candidates, making it look more like a war situation. So, it is not surprising that some people are leaving the country.”

He said that apart from some politicians and members of the elite, expatriates and companies that had technical partners had also seen many of their staff members going on vacation abroad, pending the outcome of the elections. Mr Ohunayo said he hoped that the elections come and go so they can get on with their normal lives.

Tayo Ojuri, the chief executive of Aglow, an aviation support services company, said some of the movements were based on security reports from embassies and companies that evaluated and controlled risks. Over recent weeks, several embassies have issued warnings, urging their citizens in Nigeria to be mindful of their movements during the elections.

Mr Ojuri added: "There has been an increase in the movement of Nigerians but mostly expatriates. Many people are travelling as some expatriates’ insurance terms do not allow them to stay in the country during elections, so they move and return afterwards.

“Within the aviation industry, what that does for us is it increases outbound flights and after the elections, there will be an increase in inbound flights. So, there is an increase in traffic right now because February is normally quiet in aviation but not this time.”