President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the suspension of the current cashless payment system at Nigerian airports to ease congestion while authorities work to develop a more efficient electronic payment mechanism.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday.
He said the suspension followed concerns that the policy’s implementation had resulted in traffic gridlock and caused hardship for travellers.
Keyamo further explained that although the cashless payment system was introduced to curb corruption and enhance transparency in revenue collection at airports, its implementation resulted in congestion and operational delays for passengers.
“The idea of introducing a cashless system was to eliminate corruption at the airports,” the minister said. “However, with the introduction of the system, it created a lot of gridlock and Nigerians have been suffering because of the delays.”
He said the President directed that the country should temporarily revert to the previous payment arrangement pending the development of a more effective system.
“Mr. President directed that we should suspend the present system because it creates a lot of gridlock. We should go back to the status quo and then perfect the system properly,” Keyamo added.
The minister noted that the President emphasised that the review and enhancement of the payment platform should be carried out expeditiously.
Keyamo further disclosed that the Federal Government would engage the private sector in developing a more efficient electronic system for the collection of airport-related charges.
“The President said we should engage the private sector and develop an electronic system that will collect the money seamlessly without causing delays,” he said.
He stressed that the primary reason behind the President’s directive was to immediately eliminate the congestion currently being experienced at airports and improve passenger experience.
The Minister said he would hold further consultations with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) before providing additional details on the next steps for implementing the improved system.