President Bola Tinubu has ordered the suspension of the newly introduced cashless payment system at airport toll gates across Nigeria after severe traffic congestion left many passengers missing their flights.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, following the Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House Abuja.
Immediate Return to Previous System
Keyamo said the President directed an immediate return to the previous system while authorities redesign a more efficient digital payment framework.
“Mr. President was very concerned about the welfare of Nigerians and the fact that most Nigerians were losing their flights, missing their flights,” Keyamo 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.”
According to the minister, the worst congestion occurred at the toll gates leading to Murtala Muhammed International Airport and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Nigeria’s busiest airports.
Temporary Hybrid Payment System
The government will now introduce a temporary hybrid system, allowing both cash payments and the use of FAAN prepaid cards.
“We are going to do a hybrid system whereby we can collect cash temporarily and, of course, use the cards that they have collected temporarily for now,” Keyamo said.
The toll gates are managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, which had introduced the cashless policy less than a week ago.
Why the Cashless System Was Introduced
The electronic payment system was designed to eliminate corruption and improve transparency in toll collection.
For more than 50 years, FAAN had relied primarily on cash payments at toll gates, parking lots and other airport collection points — a system authorities said was prone to fraud and revenue leakages.
The new platform was expected to:
- Provide real-time revenue tracking
- Reduce diversion of funds by collection agents
- Modernise airport access payments
However, poor rollout and insufficient payment infrastructure created major bottlenecks as motorists struggled with prepaid cards and digital payment platforms.
Massive Traffic and Missed Flights
The result was hours-long traffic jams on airport access roads, with travellers posting videos online showing vehicles backed up for several kilometres.
Passengers reported arriving many hours earlier than usual to avoid missing flights, while some said they were unable to reach airport terminals in time.
Private Sector to Help Build New System
Keyamo said the President has directed the ministry to quickly redesign the system and involve private sector partners.
“Mr. President said if we have to pay commission, we have to pay commission, but we’ll bring in private sector participants to help us devise a much more efficient payment system that will still eliminate cash at the gate.”
Although no timeline was announced for the reintroduction of a revised cashless system, the government said the President wants the issue resolved as quickly as possible.
