President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to immediately suspend its newly introduced cashless payment system following widespread traffic congestion at airports across the country.
The directive was disclosed by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, while briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by the president.
The suspension comes barely four days after the rollout of the policy, which required travellers and motorists to make digital payments through ‘Go Cashless’ cards or POS platforms for airport entry gates, parking areas, lounges and other services — replacing decades-long cash transactions.
Implementation of the system triggered severe gridlock at major facilities, including the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, leaving passengers stranded and causing many to miss scheduled flights.
Explaining the president’s intervention, Keyamo said Tinubu ordered aviation authorities to “go back to the drawing board” and design a more efficient system that ensures transparency without disrupting passenger movement.
“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 gridlock across the country.”
According to the minister, the president acted after reports that travellers were missing flights due to heavy congestion.
“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.”
Keyamo added that Tinubu instructed the ministry to urgently present an improved alternative, including possible private sector participation to deploy an electronic payment framework that would not create traffic bottlenecks.
Following the directive, FAAN has been asked to temporarily revert to the previous payment arrangement while adopting a hybrid model.
“We’re going to be having a system whereby we can collect cash temporarily and, of course, use the cards that they have collected temporarily for now,” Keyamo said.
He stressed that the decision was not a rejection of cashless reforms but a temporary measure aimed at easing hardship caused by congestion at airport access points.
“That’s a major reason, not that the president is happy with the cash system, no. It’s just an empathetic decision… to reduce the suffering… that Nigerians are going through right now,” the minister added.
