Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, yesterday said there was no going back on the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) cashless policy across major airports in Nigeria.
This was as the Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, yesterday also inspected the rollout of the hybrid payment system at the tollgate of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Keyamo gave the hint at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja, during his on the spot assessment following implementation of the hybrid system the country adopted following Mr. President’s directive to suspend the strict application of the cashless system because of its challenges.
According to him, “We decided to go back to the drawing boards to see what we can do for now. One, to still make sure we collect revenue. And secondly, to ensure that we ease the traffic. And that is why we came up with this hybrid system now. So for those who have bought the cards before, the cashless cards, that once they buy the cards, go straight into TSA, the federation account.
“Those people still have their cards to use. For those who have not bought and who are not accustomed to the new system, we allow them a very minimal number of people to still use cash until we fully migrate to the cashless system. Look, there is no going back on the cashless system.
“For those who think they can frustrate the cashless system because they like the system of collection of cash, we have passed that stage. In fact, there is a federal government directive effect memo on it saying that no federal agency should ever collect cash. So we have very limited time to do this hybrid system.”
Speaking further, Keyamo asserted, “We are going to go cashless. In fact, at the last Federal Reserve Council meeting, Mr. President gave me a deadline. He was very clear.
“He was very clear that I have a deadline. He said, ‘Minister of Aviation, you have a deadline to go fully cashless’. And the moment Mr. President has pushed me, I will also push those under me. Before Mr. President sacks me, I will sack other people too. I will sack other people too. Because before now, I left implementation fully to FAAN.
“So the nitty-gritties were worked out by FAAN. But as minister, I take full responsibility. But now, since we got to this point, as minister, I had to take full control.
“That is why I am here today, because I would not leave my fate in the hands of any other person. And that is why I am here today to take my own fate into my hands.
“To see how they are implementing the hybrid system. But guess what? This will not last. I repeat, it will not last because we are discussing with concessionaires who will come and make here fully automated and electronic because it breeds corruption for us to continue to collect cash. I will not allow it.
“It has been happening for last 50 years that FAAN collects cash in all their points. So people are used to that corrupt system. I will not allow it to continue,” Keyamo said.
Also, Kuku’s inspection followed a similar exercise earlier in the day at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, which was put into use after the inspection.
Speaking after the inspection, Kuku said the visit was in line with the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Keyamo, to implement a hybrid payment approach across airport tollgates.
According to her, the system allows travellers to pay using the automated “gold card” cashless method, while still retaining the option of cash and other payment channels to ease the transition.
She noted that the Abuja tollgate recorded free flow of traffic during the morning rollout, supported by ongoing public awareness campaigns aimed at educating users about the automated payment system.
At the Lagos airport tollgate, she said traffic also moved smoothly, although more sensitisation is still required because of the airport’s large number of first-time or occasional users.
Kuku explained that many travellers are still learning how to navigate the available payment options and how to adopt faster and more seamless automated methods.
The FAAN boss added that more work needs to be done to fully integrate the system, particularly with existing concessionaires managing the toll infrastructure.
She said lessons from the ongoing rollout would guide the full integration and streamlining of the payment process, in collaboration with the Aviation Ministry.
The hybrid payment system is part of ongoing efforts by FAAN to modernise airport access gates, improve traffic flow and introduce more efficient digital payment options for airport users.
When the cashless system was introduced on March 1, 2026, there were hiccups that led to prolonged traffic gridlock, which prompted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to temporarily halt the process.
