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| President Bola Ahmed Tinubu |
President Bola Tinubu has moved to de-escalate a growing crisis at Nigeria’s aviation gateways by ordering the immediate suspension of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) cashless payment policy. The executive intervention comes just four days after the initiative, dubbed "Operation Go Cashless," was fully implemented on March 1, 2026. The sudden shift in digital protocol had inadvertently paralyzed access to major transit hubs, including Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, as the infrastructure struggled to keep pace with the high volume of daily commuters.
The policy was designed as a bold step toward modernization and fiscal transparency, aiming to eliminate physical cash handling at toll gates, car parks, and executive lounges. Under the leadership of Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, the government sought to optimize revenue and curb corruption by mandating the use of e-tags, VIP stickers, and a dedicated "Go Cashless" card system developed in partnership with Paystack. While the administration projected a significant 75% increase in revenue through these digital channels, the practical application faced immediate technical hurdles that transformed airport access roads into miles of gridlock.
Travelers across the nation reported a chaotic scene where Point of Sale (POS) terminals frequently failed due to intermittent banking network issues, leaving motorists without prepaid cards stranded at entry points. The resulting congestion caused hundreds of passengers to miss scheduled flights, sparking a wave of public outrage that echoed across social media. Despite the mounting pressure, Minister Keyamo had initially defended the project just hours before the President's intervention, maintaining that while the system required refinement, the government remained resolute in its goal to end cash collections at airport gates.
The presidential directive to halt the program serves as a temporary reprieve for commuters and airport stakeholders who argued that the rollout was premature and lacked sufficient backup systems for Nigeria's volatile digital infrastructure. By suspending the mandate, the administration has signaled a need to re-evaluate the technical readiness of FAAN’s payment corridors. For now, manual cash collections are expected to resume to restore the flow of traffic, while the Ministry of Aviation goes back to the drawing board to address the systemic failures that hindered what was intended to be a seamless technological leap forward.
