By Ayoade Esther Damola
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to immediately suspend the controversial cashless policy.
The order followed traffic congestion at airports nationwide.
Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace, announced the presidential order which was barked out during the Federal Executive clCouncil (FEC) on Wednesday.
The directive comes barely four days after the policy was rolled out, sparking massive gridlock at major airports nationwide.
The policy, launched on March 1, mandated digital payments via ‘Go Cashless’ cards or POS systems for airport access gates, parking, lounges, and other access points — replacing over 50 years of cash collection.
On the first day of implementation, Nigerians reported severe traffic jams at key facilities like Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport and Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, resulting in long queues, stranded motorists, and numerous missed flights.
In a decisive intervention, Tinubu instructed Keyamo and FAAN’s leadership to halt implementation pending a review.
The minister said the president ordered them 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 gridlock across the country.”
The minister said Tinubu intervened decisively out of empathy for passengers.
“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.”
