The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has expressed satisfaction with improved traffic flow at the tollgate of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport following the introduction of a temporary hybrid payment system.
Keyamo, who visited the tollgate to personally monitor the new arrangement, said vehicular movement has improved significantly since the system allowing both cash and electronic payments was introduced.
“I have observed that the traffic is now flowing freely and this is because of the implementation of the hybrid system that we have decided to adopt,” the minister said.
He explained that the Federal Government had earlier suspended the strict enforcement of the cashless payment policy after it caused heavy traffic congestion around the airport during its initial rollout.
According to him, the hybrid payment system was introduced as an interim measure to maintain revenue collection while easing the movement of vehicles around the airport.
Keyamo noted that users who had already purchased electronic access cards would continue to use them, with payments going directly into the Treasury Single Account (TSA), while a limited number of motorists are temporarily allowed to pay cash until the transition is completed.
“There is no going back on the cashless system. There is a Federal Government directive that no agency should collect cash, and we have a limited time to run this hybrid arrangement before migrating fully to cashless payment,” he said.
The minister also disclosed that the ministry is engaging concessionaires to deploy fully automated electronic tollgate infrastructure that will enable seamless payments and direct remittance of revenue to the TSA.
He added that a sub-committee has already been set up to review proposals from potential concessionaires before presenting a business case to the Federal Executive Council for approval.
Keyamo further stressed the need for improved infrastructure at the tollgate, including the creation of layover and detour points for vehicles unable to complete payment immediately, expansion of the tollgate area, installation of proper signage, and deployment of standby towing vehicles to quickly remove broken-down vehicles.
The minister also reiterated the government’s stance against preferential passage at tollgates, noting that the automated system would eliminate VIP exemptions.
“When the system becomes fully automated, everyone will interact directly with the machine. Whether you are a big man or not, you must pay before the barrier opens,” he said.
He commended the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria for initiating the move toward a cashless tollgate system and directed that incentives be introduced to encourage motorists to adopt electronic access cards.
Keyamo also assured airport users that the ministry would soon begin a comprehensive public sensitisation campaign ahead of the full automation of the tollgate system.
Also speaking, the Director of Commercial and Business Development at FAAN, Adebola Joy Agunbiade, said the earlier gridlock experienced at the tollgate was largely due to the unbundling process during the initial implementation of the cashless payment system.