The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has issued more than 100,000 airport access cards to motorists nationwide as part of efforts to implement the Federal Government’s cashless policy at airport tollgates.
The Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, disclosed this on Monday, noting that 62,000 of the cards were issued within just three days of enforcing the policy.
The rollout of the cashless system on March 1 triggered widespread disruptions at major airports, leading to long queues of vehicles and passengers struggling to catch their flights.
Following public outcry, Bola Tinubu directed that airport tollgates be opened temporarily to allow motorists free access while authorities review the implementation.
Kuku acknowledged that the early days of enforcement created significant bottlenecks despite prior awareness campaigns.
“Of course, in the implementation of the cashless policy, it made it quite hectic because a lot of the commuters and even some of the passengers, despite a lot of the awareness, did not believe that we would actually start the enforcement on March 1st,” she said.
“It did create a huge bottleneck over the first few days, but we saw that it actually started to ease up. We’ve registered about 100,000 customers, of which 62,000 were actually done in the last three days.”
She added that traffic conditions in Abuja had begun to improve before the presidential directive to open the gates.
“Our ultimate goal outside of safety and security is also to make sure that our passengers and the neighbouring areas have a seamless experience. We’re grateful to Mr President. He was able to step in,” Kuku said.
Checks indicated that after the directive, FAAN officials stationed at airport tollgates vacated the entry points, leaving the barricades open and allowing vehicles to move freely.
A motorist who identified himself simply as Idris confirmed that motorists had been passing through without payment for several days.
“I’m surprised. I have been passing through the tollgate for about five days now, and not a single official of FAAN was on the ground. I guess they are restrategising,” he said.
Earlier, the Federal Government announced the suspension of the new payment system after the rollout caused confusion and heavy traffic at major airports, particularly in Lagos and Abuja.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed the directive while briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council meeting.
“Mr President was very concerned about the welfare of Nigerians and the fact that most Nigerians were missing their flights,” he said.
“So Mr President, out of empathy, directed today that we should suspend the present system because it creates a lot of gridlock and Nigerians are suffering as a result of it.”
Keyamo added that the ministry and FAAN have been directed to temporarily revert to the previous payment arrangement while officials work on a more efficient electronic system for airport access nationwide.
