Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has insisted that he has power to direct the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to suspend airlines.

Festus Keyamo stated this during an interview on Channels TV's Politics Today on Thursday.

NCAA had suspended the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Dana Air, grounding all its scheduled operations, barely 24 hours after a runway incident involving one of the airline's flights from Abuja to Lagos.

Festus Keyamo directed the NCAA to impose the sanction, which was greeted with mixed reactions.

But during the interview, Keyamo said that he was empowered to direct NCAA.

He said, "Section 26 says that I can direct them. As a matter of policy according to the section, I can direct the NCAA to do the right thing in matters of national security. National security is wide enough to cover the health and safety of Nigerians. Section 28 says they have powers of regulations. This is not regulation. It is a matter of doing your work.

"Let me tell you the intent of those sections. It says the NCAA should not be doing something towards safety. And political interference says that please grant this person a pass or waive this for this person. There would not be political interference that endangers the lives of Nigerians and removes the powers of the NCAA to make safety regulations.

"However, the reverse is the case here because the minister is telling you please put safety measures in place."