Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says about half of airport revenue is lost to VIPs who pass through airport gates without paying.
Keyamo spoke on Friday during a visit to the access gates at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja to assess the operational performance of the newly introduced hybrid payment system.
The minister said the practice, which involves ministers, lawmakers, and other government officials, has persisted for years and must stop. “We must not do VIP here again because half of our revenue goes to VIPs who are just passing without paying,” he said.
“Ministers like us, national assembly members, members of all kinds of agencies, everybody is a big man in Abuja, in Nigeria. That’s the problem.
“There is hardly anybody you see in Abuja that does not have a federal government logo printed on their business card. Whether SSA, SSSSA, TTTTA, and they will all want to come and pass free at the airports.
“Everybody is a big man in Abuja, and I say no, we can’t do that.” According to the minister, President Bola Tinubu has given him a deadline to ensure the aviation sector fully adopts a cashless payment system.
Keyamo said he had previously left the implementation of the payment system to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), but has now taken direct responsibility.
“That is why I am here today to take my own fate into my hands to see how they are implementing the hybrid system,” he said. “But guess what, this will not last because it breeds corruption for us to continue to collect cash. I will not allow it,” the minister said.
“It has been happening for the last 50 years that FAAN collects cash in all their points, and some people are used to that corrupt system.” On March 4, Tinubu ordered FAAN to immediately suspend the controversial cashless policy due to traffic congestion at airports nationwide.
