The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) has apologised to the public for the disruptions caused by the rollout of its new cashless policy at airports nationwide.
Speaking on behalf of the Authority, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire said the organisation is taking steps to ease the situation and expects normal operations to resume in the coming days.
Recall that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) introduced a nationwide cashless payment system for all airport revenue points — including access gates, toll booths, car parks, and executive/VIP lounges – which prohibits the acceptance of physical cash for these services. This policy is part of FAAN’s ‘Operation Go Cashless’ initiative and took effect from 1st March, 2026.
While speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Agbebire said:
“I think first I should start by apologizing. We express our profound apology for the distress some of our road users and passengers have gone through in the last two days.
“But the good news is we had to mitigate and make efforts to ensure that the pressure right now has reduced a bit. Things got better today, and we are hoping in a few days’ time—just a few days from now—things will just normalize”, he assured.
He further explained that the first-day chaos was largely due to many passengers delaying registration for the Go Cashless card, despite months of prior sensitisation, leaving FAAN to manage heavy pressure at airport gates.
“To put a context to this, we started sometime in October last year to sensitize people. We launched what we call the Go Cashless card at FAAN. From that point on, we started sensitizing, advertising, and onboarding people.
“Between October last year and the 28th of February, we had on-boarded about 30,000 cards. But it looked like a lot of people—as is typical in Nigeria—wait for the last minute. When the deadline came—because this is a Federal Government directive—March 1st was a no-go-back date.
“Suddenly, we had to roll out and the pressure was heavy. A lot of people on the road that day had not registered. So, we deployed people to register them to get a card. That was a problem. We gave other options, but unfortunately, that is what it is, and we found ourselves in this situation” he explained.
The Director revealed that there was a sudden surge just before rollout, noting that over 40,000 people have been on-boarded in the last few days.
“And interestingly, in the last three days, we have on-boarded another 40,000.”
He emphasised that even with extensive sensitisation, the majority of passengers delayed registration until the deadline.
“We did not rest on our oars. The last two weeks leading to the deadline became a period where we needed to intensify the efforts we were making to ensure people are sensitized and get to know about this cashless program. Because the deadline is for real, we issued press releases, we had adverts, we went on radio, and we had signposts at our different access gates. As you go past, you see the signposts and the notice. We did all of that in the hope that the sensitization program would get some traction. But again, you can still see the response; the cards that were on-boarded during that period still weren’t comparable to what happened starting March 1st”, he said.
According to Agbebire, the Go Cashless card is the quickest option, with E-tags and debit cards as other choices.
“There are several options—four of them, actually. But the ” Go Cashless’ card is the simplest and easiest. That’s why we on-boarded that quite early, so we had enough time for people to get a card. Now, it is contactless. When you get to the access gate, you need the bars to open as fast as possible. When we on-boarded the card, we felt it was the fastest, and we had to ensure we promoted that regularly.
“However, passengers or road users can also use their debit cards. The debit card is slightly slower; it could take a minute or two at the POS, and that could lead to traffic buildup. But we also encourage people to get their E-tags. You can get it for a year, and that could give you access straight on when you get to the access gate. We also have what we call the VIP E-tags for vehicles that are regular in that area; they are registered and can also use that. So, in the absence of the Go Cashless card, you can use your E-tag or your ATM/debit card. Like I said, that is slower, and that’s why we have the slow pace. But interestingly, as I speak to you, we’ve done over 70,000 total cards, and gradually we believe the tension will go down as the government’s Go Cashless program becomes more aggressively recognized and utilized”, he clarified.
Speaking further, Agbebire said FAAN expects normal traffic within a week and advised passengers to arrive earlier to avoid missing flights.
“We are quite hopeful, probably in a week. But I must say this: we’ve issued regular travel advisories. To a large extent, it’s typical that when you’re traveling internationally, you should get to the airport three hours before the time. We’ve had to advise that people please put into consideration another 30 minutes, maybe one hour, so you don’t miss your flight. We are very concerned about such passengers because we are a transforming organization and customer experience is key for us. Whatever we are doing, we are ensuring that what is necessary is being done and we are working towards this”, he said.
Favour Odima
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