Olubunmi Kuku, the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president did not ask FAAN to necessarily suspend ‘Go Cashless’ initiative but to make sure the process itself is improved before it gets rolled out.

This is coming barely 24 hours after Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace in a briefing with State House Correspondents said President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate suspension of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) cashless policy.

Chaos had erupted around toll gates leading to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and vehicular traffic gridlock worsened since the introduction of the cashless system.

Kuku who spoke on Thursday during a press conference at Lagos airport said she considered the development a major win for FAAN and the Ministry of Aviation, adding that the cashless policy started last year with a lot of enlightenment.

“We started a lot of enlightenment, even the National Orientation Agency had publicised it as far back as October, last year. We were asked to implement a federal government directive which was done at the Federal Executive Council. This was what we were pushing towards, but unfortunately we were given a deadline.

“We had actually asked for a hybrid approach that allows us to do both cashless as well as automated. So for me and the agency, we actually thank Mr. President for this laudable initiative. The fact Is that the President is not just talking of federal government initiatives or policy rollouts but understanding the nature of every environment,” the MD said.

Kuku said the president saw the traffic gridlock as a result of the cashless policy and asked them to revert back to status quo or the hybrid approach.

“That’s what we’re doing. So this is a win for the industry,” she said.

She disclosed that the president has given FAAN some time to go back and refine the process and ensure there are more users.

She said despite all of the enlightenments by FAAN, a lot of passengers and commuters did not realize that FAAN would stick to the March 1st deadline.

“From October to March 3rd, we had over 100 thousand enrolled users, of which 60,000 of those users were enrolled in the last three days. So for me, that is a major win.

“So going forward, we need to make sure that the technology works. Secondly, to make sure that a lot of our users are more enlightened. We give more people the options to pick up, whether it’s the cards, the e-tags, and then bring the private sector on board to ensure we’re using lessons learned that are made in other regions as well.

“We actually had at least 99 percent success with the cashless cards that were deployed. However, we did realize that it created a significant amount of gridlock, especially in Lagos. You would note that the location of the toll gates in itself is not necessarily ideal.

“I say that because it’s not just for airport users. Within the Lagos environment, you have other commuters who are either people working in the airport area or commuting to other areas,” she explained.

She noted that in Abuja, for example, by day three, there was a reduction in the amount of gridlock.

She assured that in the next couple of days, FAAN would look at the process again and see how it can use the hybrid approach.

“If you listen to the minister’s interview after the Federal Executive Council, he did say hybrid approach still allows users to potentially use their cards and also pass through the toll. But at least now, we will still be able to accommodate cash where it’s applicable. So I don’t see any dilemma.

“As we continue the process, people should at least know that it’s not a process where it’s completely halted. It’s an instruction to revert back to status quo.

“So you can use your cards and potentially still be able to use cash until you purchase your card. So it’s more to allow people to be onboarded in additional time. One of the reasons for this process is to actually block leakages,” Kuku explained. (BusinessDay)