Abuja, Nigeria – President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has halted the cashless airport toll system nationwide following massive traffic congestion that forced many passengers to miss flights. The announcement was made on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, by Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, after a Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital.
Minister Keyamo said the President was concerned about the difficulties Nigerians were experiencing. “Mr. President was very concerned about the welfare of Nigerians and the fact that most Nigerians were losing their flights, missing their flights. So Mr. President, out of empathy, directed today that we should suspend the present system because it creates a lot of gridlock, and Nigerians are suffering as a result of it,” he said.
The suspension is aimed at resolving the traffic jams at Lagos and Abuja airport toll gates. Keyamo explained, “The major reason why Mr. President took this decision is to eliminate the present gridlock that we are experiencing, especially at both the Lagos and Abuja toll gates leading to the airport. That’s the major reason, not that the President is happy with the cash system.”
The cashless system, launched less than a week ago, replaced decades of cash collection at airport toll gates, parking lots, and other locations managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). The new system aimed to improve revenue collection and reduce fraud, but it triggered long delays on airport access roads, leaving passengers stranded.
President Tinubu has instructed the Ministry of Aviation to review the system and involve private sector participants in creating a more effective payment method. Keyamo said, “We should go back and, if possible, even engage the private sector to ensure that we establish an electronic system by which we can collect these revenues for the federal government at the gates, to the extent that it will not create the gridlock that we are having right now.”
A temporary hybrid system will allow both cash payments and the use of prepaid FAAN cards, providing relief while a more reliable electronic system is developed. “We are going to do a hybrid system whereby we can collect cash temporarily and, of course, use the cards that they have collected temporarily for now,” Keyamo stated.
Motorists had faced difficulties with the cashless system due to unfamiliarity with electronic payments, causing kilometre-long queues and extensive social media coverage of the delays. Lagos and Abuja airports, the busiest in Nigeria, were most affected, forcing travellers to arrive several hours earlier than usual.
FAAN defended the initiative, noting that the cash-based system had long been prone to mismanagement, while the cashless system was designed to provide real-time revenue tracking and prevent diversion of funds. The rollout, however, revealed operational weaknesses and insufficient infrastructure, prompting the President’s immediate intervention.
Keyamo did not provide a firm date for the improved cashless system’s return but confirmed that the President wants a quick solution.