President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate suspension of the newly introduced cashless payment system at federal airports following widespread congestion at airport access gates that caused many passengers to miss their flights.
The decision was part of resolutions reached at yesterday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the President intervened after receiving reports that the system had created severe traffic build-up at airport toll points, leaving travellers stranded and unable to board their flights.
According to Keyamo, Tinubu directed the aviation ministry to halt the policy and temporarily revert to the previous payment system while the new arrangement is improved.
“The President was concerned that many Nigerians were missing their flights because of the challenges experienced with the system,” the minister said.
“Out of empathy, he directed that the present arrangement be suspended because it has created a lot of gridlock and Nigerians were suffering.”
Keyamo said Tinubu also instructed the ministry and relevant aviation agencies to refine the system before reintroducing it.
“He directed us to return to the status quo immediately, suspend the present process and perfect it as soon as possible before bringing it back,” he added.
Cashless policy triggers congestion
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had introduced the ‘Go Cashless Card’ as part of efforts to implement a fully cashless and contactless payment system across airport toll gates and other payment points nationwide.
The initiative was designed to allow motorists and airport users to make faster, safer and more convenient payments without using cash.
However, the rollout quickly led to long queues and traffic congestion at several airport access points, as many motorists attempted to obtain the cashless cards on arrival at the gates.
In a statement posted earlier on its official X platform, FAAN acknowledged the congestion and attributed it to last-minute registration by motorists.
“Despite the wide publicity, notices and repeated announcements issued ahead of the commencement date, a significant number of motorists opted to register for their Go Cashless cards at the gates,” the authority said.
“This understandably created pressure on the toll lanes and resulted in temporary gridlock.”
FAAN said it had deployed additional personnel to the gates, increased registration points and strengthened on-ground coordination to ease traffic flow.
Despite those measures, complaints from airport users continued to mount, prompting the federal government to suspend the system pending further review.
