President Bola Tinubu’s administration in Nigeria has declared that all users of the nation’s federal airports would have to start paying tolls at the airport gates.
This was among the clearances granted by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) following its Monday and Tuesday meetings in Abuja.
In a list of permissions obtained by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), President Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said that all individuals, including the President and Vice President, are required to pay tolls at federal airport gates.
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He said that at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed Airport, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has also approved the provision, installation, and training of disabled aircraft recovery system operators.
Onanuga also revealed that the contract for Murtala Muhammed Airport will require N4.2 billion, with a similar contract having been awarded in 2021 for Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
“After exhaustive deliberations, the council approved a number of policies and projects that will further boost the economy, facilitate investments and promote the ease of doing business in the country.
“FEC approved that all users of Federal airports all over the country must now pay tolls at the gates. No one is excluded. The President and Vice President of Nigeria will also pay the toll,” Onanuga said.
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Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), said the approval was made following a memorandum he presented to the council that the government was losing over 82% of the revenue it should have earned from the e-tags that provide access to the tollgates.
The minister explained that the memoranda had initially prescribed an exemption for only the president and the vice president before Tinubu overruled and directed that both of them should be included among those who must pay.
Keyamo regretted that wealthy Very Important Persons (VIPs), who should pay, are those that have not been paying.
The minister said only poor people had been charged for using the tollgates, a situation that must stop.
