Louis Ibah
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it has concluded plans to ban the movements of large sums of money (physical cash) across Nigerian airports as part of measures to stem corrupt practices.
Spokeswoman for FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, said all necessary arrangements have been made to create various electronic payment options that would facilitate cashless transactions between airports, airlines and passengers transiting Nigerian airports.
She explained that the initiative was designed under the Presidential Enabling Environment Business Council (PEBEC) to ensure convenience and curb corruption. She said the policy would cover operators of car parks, cargo, chartered and unscheduled airlines, and any other business establishment at the airports.
“No government official will handle cash during transactions at any of the airports when the exercise takes off,” Mrs Yakubu said.
“We are soliciting the cooperation of all airport users, concessionaires and the general public to ensure a hitch free exercise. For FAAN, this cashless policy will help us to eliminate leakages and further increase revenue base of the organisation,” she added.
According Mrs. Yakubu, the decision to take steps to halt all forms of corruption at the airport had become inevitable given that the airports being the entry points to the country serve as the mirror through which visitors assess the country and its citizens. She said the cashless policy would also ease business transactions at the airports.
Yakubu also disclosed that Nigeria had commenced the issuance of Visa on arrival for non-Nigerians at the country’s international airports as part of the Ease of Doing Business initiative, adding that the launch of the digital payment policy would go a long way in making Nigerian airports more passenger-friendly.