The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, has provided further clarification regarding the suspension of cashless payments at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos tollgate.

Kuku in Thursday explained that President Bola Tinubu did not instruct FAAN to halt the “Go Cashless” initiative entirely.

Instead, he asked the agency to enhance the payment process to ensure it functions smoothly before a full rollout.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, told State House correspondents on Wednesday that President Bola Tinubu had ordered the immediate suspension of FAAN’s cashless payment policy.

The system, introduced last Sunday, caused severe traffic congestion along Airport Road, Lagos, stretching over 900 meters from the popular 7&8 Bus Stop to the tollgate connecting the airport’s international and domestic terminals.

Speaking at a press conference at Lagos Airport, Kuku described the development as a major win for FAAN and the Ministry of Aviation. She added that the cashless policy, which began last year, was launched alongside extensive public awareness campaigns.

“We started a lot of enlightenment, even the National Orientation Agency had publicised it as far back as October last year. We were asked to implement a federal government directive, which was done at the Federal Executive Council. This was what we were pushing towards, but unfortunately, we were given a deadline.

“We had actually asked for a hybrid approach that allows us to do both cashless as well as automated. So, for me and the agency, we actually thank Mr. President for this laudable initiative. The fact is that the president is not just talking of federal government initiatives or policy rollouts but understanding the nature of every environment,” she said.

She explained that the president viewed the traffic gridlock as a consequence of the cashless policy and instructed that the system be reverted to the previous arrangement or a hybrid approach.

Kuku revealed that President Tinubu had given FAAN time to refine the cashless process and ensure wider user adoption, which would help boost the agency’s revenue.

She added that despite FAAN’s extensive awareness campaigns, many passengers and commuters were unaware that the March 1 deadline for full implementation would be strictly enforced.

“From October to March 3rd, we had over 100,000 enrolled users, of which 60,000 of those users were enrolled in the last three days. So, for me, that is a major win.

“So going forward, we need to make sure that the technology works. Secondly, to make sure that a lot of our users are more enlightened. We give more people the options to pick up, whether it’s the cards, the e-tags, and then bring the private sector on board to ensure we’re using lessons learned that are made in other regions as well.

“We actually had at least 99 per cent success with the cashless cards that were deployed.

“However, we did realise that it created a significant amount of gridlock, especially in Lagos. You would note that the location of the tollgates in itself is not necessarily ideal.

“I say that because it’s not just for airport users. Within the Lagos environment, you have other commuters who are either people working in the airport area or commuting to other areas,” she added.

Kuku noted that by the third day of implementation in Abuja, traffic congestion had eased.

She assured that over the next few days, FAAN would review the process and explore how a hybrid approach could be applied.