President Bola Tinubu suspends the cashless airport payment system after gridlock, directing a review to ensure efficiency and ease for passengers

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate suspension of the newly implemented cashless airport payment system across all Nigerian airports, following widespread reports of severe traffic congestion and passenger frustration during its first week of operation.

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The directive was announced by Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, after briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Keyamo said the ministry would now engage private sector stakeholders to develop a more efficient system.

“Mr. President was very concerned about the welfare of Nigerians and the fact that most Nigerians were losing or missing their flights,” the minister stated.

The President instructed that the ministry “revert to the status quo” and perfect the system to avoid operational gridlock.

Keyamo emphasised that the cashless system was initially introduced to eliminate corruption and optimise federal revenue, but poor implementation and inadequate infrastructure had caused chaos at airport access points.

“The President directed me to go back to the drawing board. We should engage the private sector if possible and establish an electronic system that will not create the gridlock we are experiencing,” Keyamo said.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had justified the cashless policy as a measure to block revenue leakages and ensure transparency in toll collection, citing decades of fraud and under-remittance in the cash-based system.

The system was also expected to provide real-time revenue tracking and eliminate diversion by collection agents.

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No timeline has been given for the reintroduction of the improved cashless system, but the minister confirmed that resolving the issue is a matter of urgency for the President.