Passengers and motorists were stranded for hours on Sunday as confusion and heavy gridlock trailed the commencement of a cashless toll payment system introduced by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at major airports in Lagos and Abuja.
The new policy, which took effect on 1 March 2026, bars cash payments at airport toll gates, requiring motorists to use prepaid access cards or electronic payment channels.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, long queues of vehicles stretched from the toll gate area toward Oshodi and adjoining access roads, with many drivers scrambling to obtain the newly introduced cards.
Similar scenes were reported at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, where frustrated travellers complained of missed flights and delayed pickups.
FAAN had earlier announced that the cashless regime was part of efforts to block revenue leakages and align with the Federal Government’s directive on electronic revenue collection across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Under the new system, the access card itself is free, but users are required to load a minimum amount — typically N1,000 or N2,000 — to activate it. A N500 maintenance charge is deducted upon loading.
FAAN also accepts Point of Sale (POS) payments, although officials admitted that POS transactions tend to delay traffic flow compared to the tap-and-go card system.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of FAAN, Henry Agbebire, said the congestion was largely due to last-minute compliance.
He said, ‘We publicised the cashless policy, but many people waited until today to get their cards. Nobody is allowed to pay cash anymore, so that created the initial rush’.
FAAN reiterated its appeal to frequent airport users to obtain and preload their access cards ahead of travel to avoid future delays, stressing that the cashless system is now fully in force at the nation’s busiest gateways.
‘So, nobody passed through the toll gate and paid cash. So, this led to some traffic jams. And so, a lot of people started registering to get a card. The cards are available and it’s very easy to access. So, when you get a card, you can just scan the QR code. So, it takes you to go cashless at faan.gov.ng. You now register. You can upload a payment.
‘You know, you can just load your card with like 2,000 Naira and that can take you through quite a couple of times before you load again. So, the idea is just to block leakages and align with the federal government directive to ensure that revenues are collected through cashless means.
‘We’ve been appealing to them. We had to even give a notice to appeal to people and reiterate the need for the cashless. So, we have something out there’.
