By MUHYIDEEN JIMOH

President Bola Tinubu has directed the suspension of the newly introduced cashless payment system at airports over traffic gridlock experienced by travellers across the country.

Mr Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development disclosed this after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, at the State House, Abuja.

He noted that the policy had caused severe congestion and hardship for travellers, particularly at Lagos and Abuja airports.

According to him, the cashless system was introduced to curb corruption and enhance transparency in revenue collection.

“The idea of introducing a cashless system was to eliminate corruption at the airports.

“However, with the introduction of the system, it created a lot of gridlock and Nigerians have been suffering because of the delays,”

He said the president directed an immediate return to the previous payment arrangement pending improvements.

“Mr President directed that we should suspend the present system because it creates a lot of gridlock.

“He said we should go back to the status quo and then perfect the system properly.”

Keyamo added that the president directed that the review of the platform be carried out expeditiously.

“The President said we should engage the private sector and develop an electronic system that will collect the money seamlessly without causing delays,” he said.

The minister assured that consultations would continue with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria on next steps.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FAAN began implementing the cashless policy on March 1.

The directive barred cash payments at airport toll gates, requiring motorists to use prepaid access cards or electronic channels.

However, the development resulted in gridlock, with some passengers missing flights due to delays at toll points. (NAN)