President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate suspension of the current cashless payment system at the federal airports.
This development follows the widespread gridlock at major airports nationwide that occurred after the policy’s rollout.
The decision to suspend the policy was among the resolutions adopted at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday.
According to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, Tinubu was concerned that most Nigerians were missing their flights.
Keyamo noted that out of empathy, the President directed that the ministry suspend the present system because it created a lot of gridlocks, and Nigerians were suffering.
He added that the President equally ordered the agency to “go back to the drawing board” and develop a more people‑friendly alternative that balances revenue transparency goals with passenger convenience.
“In the aviation sector, two very important issues arose today. The first one has to do with the present cashless system we introduced at our toll gates across the country in order to eliminate corruption… and optimise revenue for the federal government,” he said.
“You recall that this practice had gone on for more than 50 years with the collection of cash… However, with the introduction of the cashless system less than a week ago, it’s created a lot of gridlocks across the country.”
“Mr. President was very concerned about the health of Nigerians and the fact that most Nigerians were losing their flights, missing their flights. And so Mr. President, out of empathy, directed today that we should suspend the present system because it creates a lot of ripple, and Nigerians are suffering as a result of it.
“In fact, the president directed me that this should not take too long and I should get back to him on this issue… if possible, even engage the private sector to ensure that we establish an electronic system to the extent that it will not create the gridlock that we’re having right now.”
