|By Babatunji Wusu
Traffic around the tollgate leading to Murtala Muhammed International Airport ground to a halt on Sunday after the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) began enforcing a new cashless payment policy for vehicles accessing the airport.
The abrupt implementation triggered massive gridlock, leaving hundreds of motorists and air passengers stranded as traffic to both the domestic and international terminals crawled for hours. What ordinarily takes less than a minute at the toll point stretched to nearly 20 minutes per vehicle, compounding delays at one of the country’s busiest aviation hubs.
Several travellers, fearing they would miss their flights, abandoned their vehicles and hopped on commercial motorcycles to beat the clock. The operators, despite restrictions around the airport axis, reportedly seized the opportunity to hike fares by as much as 200 per cent.
Confirming the enforcement, FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, said the cashless initiative was designed to plug revenue leakages and strengthen transparency within the system. He insisted the policy aligns with the Federal Government’s broader drive toward a cashless economy.
However, tempers flared at the tollgate as some drivers clashed with officials over failed electronic transfers and delayed payment confirmations. Many motorists accused FAAN of rolling out the system without adequate public sensitisation, arguing that the confusion was avoidable.
One affected driver, Adebayo Awojobi, said he spent nearly an hour trapped in traffic. He warned that the chaos could spiral further on a weekday when vehicular traffic typically surges, adding that officials appeared overwhelmed by the volume of users.
Agbebire dismissed claims of poor awareness, maintaining that FAAN had made sufficient preparations and provided enough access cards for motorists. According to him, the card is issued free of charge, but once loaded with N1,000 or N2,000, a maintenance fee of N500 is deducted.
He attributed part of the disruption to motorists who delayed compliance until enforcement began, stressing that the system is structured to curb extortion, boost accountability and enhance FAAN’s revenue profile.
As of Sunday evening, traffic movement around the airport tollgate remained slow, with many commuters calling for a phased implementation strategy to prevent a repeat of the disruption.
