With the return of the cashless/hybrid payment policy, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo has ordered that the advantages enjoyed by Very Important Persons (VIPs) at airport access gates be discontinued.
This was revealed by Kayamo on Friday at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, while conducting an on-the-spot evaluation of the country’s adoption of the hybrid system.
The minister made a solemn promise that the government will not budge from its commitment to adopt FAAN’s cashless policy.
Because VIP accounts for half of our income, we really should not do it here again. The difficulty in Abuja is that everyone is a big man. It’s impossible to find a single Abujaite (SSTTA, SA, SSA, etc.) whose business card doesn’t bear the initials FG.
The cashless system cannot be reversed.
There will be no more cash transactions. Actually, Mr. President did set a deadline for me at our most recent Federal Executive Council meeting. I have a deadline, and he made it very plain. The minute Mr. President presses me, I will likewise push those under me. He warned the Minister of Aviation that there was a deadline for going completely cashless.
Mr. President, I will fire you and others before you fire me. I will also fire other employees. In the past, I had delegated all responsibility for execution to FAAN, and they handled the details. However, now that I am the minister, I am totally responsible and must assume full charge.
“I am determined to take control of my own destiny and observe the hybrid system’s implementation; however, I do not intend for this to be permanent.”
You may recall that on March 1, 2026, the Nigerian government announced that all airports in the country would begin accepting only digital payments. As a result of the policy’s impact on airport congestion, President Bola Tinubu suspended it.