One week after President Bola Tinubu ordered the suspension of the ‘Go Cashless’ policy tolling at all airports, officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) have continued to stay away from the access tollgate at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and others nationwide.

The Guardian observed that, since Tinubu gave the order, the barricades had been left open, with no FAAN officials in sight.

As of the time of filing this report, FAAN had yet to give any reason for the abandonment of the facility, but a source close to the agency told The Guardian that Tinubu directed that FAAN should suspend any form of tolling at any of its tollgates, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.

The source, however, said that FAAN’s management was meeting to discuss the next line of action on the issue, but noted that the agency’s timing for implementing the cashless policy was wrong.

He, however, assured that there would be a change in the present situation very soon.

He said: “The fact is that President Tinubu gave an order for all the access gates to be opened. We can’t say because we want to make more money, and they impede the free movement of travellers and allow air travellers to miss their flights.

“This is a peak period; people are travelling from one point to the other. We should allow them, but very soon, there will be a change in the current system, possibly before the end of the week.”

The Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, had told journalists last week that the agency would adopt a hybrid payment system at airport tollgates, following Tinubu’s intervention.

Kuku said the decision followed the President’s directive after deliberations at the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which asked the agency to refine the implementation process before a full rollout.

She described the directive as a major win for FAAN and the entire sector, noting that the agency had initially pushed for a hybrid approach that allows both cashless and cash payments.

She explained that FAAN had begun sensitisation campaigns on the cashless policy since October last year, including awareness efforts supported by the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

She also attributed the chaos at the Lagos airport partly to the location of airport tollgates, which she said were used not only by airport passengers, but also by commuters travelling to other parts of the state.

MEANWHILE, Keyamo, late yesterday, directed the introduction of a hybrid payment system at airport access gates nationwide, following the earlier suspension of the full cashless system, which led to traffic gridlock at some airports.

The Minister stated that from Friday, March 13, airports will resume the hybrid payment arrangement, allowing both cash and electronic payments at all airport access gates.

The decision came after a meeting between the minister, FAAN officials, and senior ministry officials to review the initial implementation of the cashless access gate payment system and the operational challenges encountered.