Category: Daily Trust

Amidst initial challenges envisaged in its implementation, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has officially launched the contactless and cashless payment system beginning with the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The system unveiled during a press conference at the MMIA on Monday was described as a comprehensive cashless and contactless payment solution which effectively eradicates payment of physical cash at all strata of the airports.

These include all airports, airport access gates, car parks and VIP lounges.

The authority is projecting a 75 per cent increase in revenue from the deployment of the initiative, starting with 50 per cent from the pilot implementation and 75 per cent as the system extends to other airports across the country. ‘We project a 50 percent increase in revenue collection at this pilot stage, rising to 75 percent as we integrate more points, with the goal of tripling revenue within the first year of full implementation,’ said the Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku during the unveiling and demonstration of the payment solution at the MMIA, Lagos.ing Years of opaque revenue management

Over the decades, there have been complaints from stakeholders over what they called ‘opaque’ management system especially from non-aeronautical revenues.

The non-aeronautical revenues are revenues generated outside airline operations. FAAN has an enlarged revenue stream, generating money from different sources outside landing and parking, passenger services classified as the aeronautical revenues.

Some of the sources include access control (toll gates) at various airports especially Lagos and Abuja where over 300,000 vehicular movements are recorded monthly.

Move to ramp up revenue

Daily Trust reports that no fewer than 20 airports generated N382,149,252,045 from January to December 2024, in the country.

Out of these airports, Lagos alone accounted for 67% followed by the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport which accounted for 21.3 per cent.

The figure on percentage contribution on generation and collection by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) between January and December 2024 showed that MMA generated N256,067,290,722.42 followed by Abuja which generated N81,219,777,298.42.

With a projected 75 per cent increase in revenue with the deployment of the new automation system, the revenue could increase to over N500bn from both airports, according to analysts.

Represented by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of FAAN, Henry Agbebire at the unveiling, the Managing Director of FAAN disclosed that the authority’s brand Ambassadors would be deployed at all airport access gates to assist customers in onboarding on the automated payment system.

She disclosed that the transition to cashless and contactless system was in response to the demand of customers for a modern and more transparent payment system.

With the system, she said, ‘We are building a system that is more transparent,’ adding this highlights the commitment of FAAN to national development through increased revenue generation.

Kuku added that the authority would systematically expand to other airports in a phased manner.

The MD said, ‘Let me be clear: by significantly reducing our reliance on physical cash, we are building a system that is inherently more transparent. Every transaction will be electronic, traceable, and secure.

‘This directly enhances our revenue assurance capabilities, ensuring that every Naira due to the Authority is duly collected and accounted for. This is not just good for FAAN; it is a testament to our commitment to national development and fiscal responsibility.

‘Furthermore, embracing these digital trends ensures that our airports remain competitive and aligned with global best practices. We are sending a clear message to the world that Nigeria is open for business, with infrastructure that meets international standards.’

Kuku further explained that the cashless card would be available at all airport access gates in Lagos and Abuja.

‘I encourage you to collect yours, and to activate and fund it immediately. This launch is a critical milestone, but it is not the final destination. FAAN remains steadfast in its commitment to continuous improvement. Following the successful implementation in Lagos and Abuja, we will systematically expand this cashless policy to all other airports nationwide in a phased manner,’ she added.

Director of Commercial and Business Development of FAAN, Adebola Agunbiade, disclosed that FAAN had set a target of the first quarter of 2026 for a complete phase out of cash transactions across all airports.

She stated that the new system is built on four pillars ‘to significantly enhance operational efficiency; to reduce congestion and delays for a smoother passenger experience; to improve revenue collection and accountability and to firmly align FAAN with global best practices for seamless airport access and service delivery.

She said, ‘For FAAN, we project a 50% increase in revenue collection at this pilot stage, rising to 75% as we integrate more points, with the goal of tripling revenue within the first year of full implementation. These additional funds will be strategically reinvested into further infrastructural development across our airports.

‘For Airport Users, you will enjoy greater convenience, faster transactions, and reduced risk of theft. This policy also promotes financial inclusion, extending services to those with limited access to traditional banking.’

She explained that for businesses, the authority had ensured that transaction costs are kept low to protect the profit margins of our business partners, and reliable internet services will be available to support seamless operations.

‘An initiative of this magnitude does not succeed without a comprehensive awareness campaign. We have already begun engaging stakeholders through forums, such as the one held at the Sheraton Hotel, and will intensify efforts with billboards, social media assets, radio jingles, and posters at access gates to drive adoption,’ she added.

She reiterated that there would be full implementation across all FAAN-operated airports by the first quarter of 2026.

‘Furthermore, following the success at the access gates, we intend to expand this cashless policy to other areas, including casual flights, VIP lounges, car parks, and car hire operations.

‘Every month, our access gates in Lagos and Abuja recorded over three hundred thousand vehicular entrances respectively. Our VIP and Protocol lounges serve thousands yearly and we believe we can improve the quality of service to our customers when we can receive payments conveniently and transparently,’ she added.

What experts are saying?

As the implementation begins, experts say there is the need for the authorities to ensure a seamless transition without hitches.

Also, some passengers who spoke with our correspondent expressed fear over network glitches which might cause unnecessary delay and long queues especially at access gates.

Speaking with our correspondent, General Secretary of the Aviation Roundtable, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo said it is long overdue.

‘This is long overdue and expected with the rate at which the minister and his team are moving, right from the regulator to all agencies, they are moving from manual to IT and infotech and this is to improve service delivery.

‘And the beauty is that they are even looking at the regulations again to see how it can be fine-tuned. I am happy that FAAN has taken up this position regarding the toll, and I think it will be the most effective.

‘It is ridiculous when you drive past those toll booths and you see officers and senior staff of FAAN sitting in the booths when they are supposed to be in the office developing policies and working out how to improve revenue generation, they are there struggling to collect N500. Even at a stage I began to wonder, because that’s about the only tolling booth I have seen in the world whereby the person sitting in there is stretching his hands and asking cars to start coming.’

Another aviation analyst, Group Capt. John Ojikutu said, ‘If you don’t know what you are looking for, you may not or cannot get it. There was Avitech before now doing cashless services from FAAN allied services and operators to FAAN. How has that been?

‘When you sell eggs daily for a price but don’t know the number sold, you cannot know how much to expect. Check the passengers’ traffic figures from the NCAA, NAMA and FAAN to know if they are the same or corresponding to one another.’

A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared unconstitutional the shadow government proposed by the Prof. Pat Utomi-led Big Tent Movement.

Justice James Omotosho, delivering judgement on Monday, ruled that the initiative was alien to Nigeria’s presidential system of government and void under the 1999 Constitution.

‘The Nigerian Constitution makes no room for a shadow government. Therefore, any participation in any government which is unknown to law will be struck down by this court. I hereby declare the formation as void,’ the judge held.

The judge also restrained members of the movement’s Good Governance portfolio and council of economic advisers, including Dele Farotimi, Oghene Momoh, Cheta Nwanze, Daniel Ikuonobe, Halima Ahmed, David Okonkwo and Obi Ajuga, from operating the structure. Efforts by Daily Trust to obtain a reaction from Nana Kazaure, the group’s Shadow Minister for Communication and Public Orientation, proved unsuccessful as she did not respond to calls or messages.

The Department of State Services (DSS), which initiated the suit, argued that sections 1(1), 1(2) and 14(2)(a) of the Constitution uphold the supremacy of the constitution and sovereignty of the people, and that all governmental authority must derive from law.

The DSS had sought, among other reliefs, ‘an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents and associates from taking any steps towards establishing or operating a ‘shadow government’, ‘shadow cabinet’, or any similar entity not recognised by the Constitution.’

To guide the court, eminent legal scholars were invited as amici curiae, including Prof. Ademola Popoola of Obafemi Awolowo University; Prof. Uchefula Chukwumaeze, Vice Chancellor of Imo State University; former NBA president Yakubu Maikyau (SAN); Joseph Daudu (SAN); Joe Gadzama (SAN); Prof. Dakas Dakas (SAN); and Miannaya Essien (SAN).

The shadow government, formally launched by Utomi on May 5, was designed to function like a shadow cabinet common in parliamentary systems. It assigned portfolios to opposition figures, professionals and activists to scrutinise government policies and propose alternatives.

At its unveiling, Utomi described the project as a ‘national emergency response’ aimed at deepening democracy beyond periodic elections. He argued it would serve as an alternative think-tank to highlight policy failures and mobilise citizens to demand accountability.

Lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi was named to head the Ombudsman and Good Governance desk, while Cheta Nwanze, Halima Ahmed, Daniel Ikuonobe and others were given shadow roles. Kazaure, who also serves as Director of Strategic Communication for the Obidient Movement, was appointed Shadow Minister for Communication.

The initiative immediately sparked controversy. Critics maintained that Nigeria’s presidential system does not recognise such arrangements. The DSS warned that the body could confuse citizens, undermine state authority and embolden separatist groups.

On May 13, 2025, the DSS filed suit FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025 at the Federal High Court, urging the court to declare the Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government (BTCSG) unconstitutional.

In June, Utomi, through his lawyers, opposed the suit, arguing that the shadow government was merely an exercise of citizens’ rights to free speech, free association and political participation. He accused the DSS of attempting to criminalise civic activism and silence dissent.

The newly elected President of the Nigerian Association of Orthodontists (NAO), Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, has reaffirmed the association’s commitment to tackling the shortage of specialists in order to improve orthodontic care in Nigeria.

Orthodontics, a specialized branch of dentistry, focuses on correcting misaligned teeth and jaws (malocclusion) using devices such as braces and clear aligners to improve bite, function, and facial aesthetics.

Prof. Ize-Iyamu, who is also the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), made this known in Benin during her acceptance speech after emerging as the association’s 10th national president.

She pledged to prioritise initiatives that would enhance members’ skills, promote best practices, and ultimately improve patient care. ‘We will strive to address the challenge of the shortage of orthodontic services in underserved areas, especially considering that only 74 orthodontists currently serve a population of over 237.5 million,’ she said.

According to her, the association will also focus on promoting excellence in research, technology, and innovation, while exploring new frontiers in orthodontics for the benefit of members and patients.

On her part, the immediate past president of NAO, Dr. Olayinka Adeyinka, expressed confidence that her successor would build on past achievements and take the association to greater heights.

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has stated that electricity generation on the National Grid has dropped to 3,200 megawatts (MW) due to the industrial action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

A statement by NISO said the disruptions by PENGASSAN triggered widespread gas shortages, reducing available generation from over 4,300 MW.

It, however, said it has deployed contingency measures to preserve the stability, security, and reliability of the National Grid through strategic ramp-ups from major hydro stations, contributing over 400 MW of additional output to cushion the shortfall from gas-fired plants.

The statement reads, ‘There are now real-time load adjustments to match available generation with system demand, while preventing a system frequency collapse. While continuous deployment of reactive power compensation and reserve monitoring to safeguard system integrity is strengthened. ‘There is selective load shedding, applied as a last resort, to avert a system-wide collapse and ensure fair power distribution. These timely actions enabled the NISO NCC to minimize the impact of the labour-induced gas shortages, sustain operational security, and maintain supply to critical loads, thereby averting a nationwide blackout.’

The agency assured its commitment to proactive grid management, operational excellence, and the application of best-in-class practices to guarantee a secure and reliable electricity supply for the nation.

Reports of escalating attacks, intimidation and harassment of citizens by governors are becoming too frequent and discomfiting. This is becoming a grave threat to media freedom, freedom of expression, and citizens’ right of access and circulation of information about things around them.

Earlier in September, Hassan Mai-Waya Kangiwa was arrested and handcuffed allegedly on the orders of Governor Nasiru Idris for releasing a viral video showing the deplorable healthcare conditions including patients lying on bare metal beds without mattresses at Kangiwa General Hospital in Kebbi State.

On Wednesday September 24, the Imo State Police Command moved to arraign Chinedu Agu, a lawyer and known critic of Governor Hope Uzodimma. Agu, who was arrested by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police’s X-Squad Unit following a petition by a pro-Uzodinma group, Imo Democratic Alliance.

Imo state Police spokesperson, DSP Henry Okoye, said Agu’s charges bordered on cyberstalking, defamation of character, incitement of civil disturbances, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace and it is being ‘carried out in accordance with the rule of law and with due respect for his fundamental human rights.’ Others cases include the harassment of Blessing Okonkwo, a freelance broadcast journalist in Anambra State, in July 2025 and the hours-long detention of Ibrahim Garba, a Daily Trust photojournalist in Kano, in August 2025.

In September 2024, Samuel Samuel II was arrested in Plateau State for making a statement that involved the criticism of the governor.

On November 9, 2024, 18-year-old Hamdiyya Sidi was arrested by the Sokoto State Police after she posted a video criticising the state governor, Ahmad Aliyu, over the rampant banditry and neglect of people displaced by insecurity. Though the police said she was not arrested for criticizing the governor but for another incident on November 3, where she allegedly incited some women in a village in Wurno Local Government Area of the state against the governor. Released later, Sidi was on November 13, 2024 kidnapped by gunmen, beaten and pushed out of a moving tricycle and left for dead. She sustained serious injuries.

She was rearrested again and charged in a Sharia court ‘for the use of abusive language and criticisms against constituted authority in the state.’ In addition to this, Sidi also faces charges in regular court for incitement. During a hearing in January, her lawyer, Abba Hikima, said they were stalked, accosted, and intimidated. Sidi last appeared in court in February 2025. Though her case was adjourned to March 13 and 14, 2025, nothing has been heard since then.

In August 2022, Agba Jalingo, a journalist and publisher of Cross River Watch was arrested on allegation of defamation against the sister-in-law of the then Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade. He was later transferred to the Police Criminal Instigation Department in Abuja. Earlier in August 2019, he was arrested on the orders of the Cross River State government and charged with treasonable felony, terrorism and cybercrime for accusing the governor of diverting public funds. He was later discharged and acquitted in March 2022.

In a similar development, a blogger on the Eagles Foresight platform, Bashiru Hammed Adewale Olamilekan was arrested on May 13, 2022 and detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Ogun State for publishing a story relating to purported criminal records of the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun in the United States. He spent over 100 days in detention despite deleting the said publication and tendering an apology to the governor.

What some of the governors are doing are direct attacks on citizens’ right to be part of the vital check on power. They’ve also become a symptom of broader systemic disease that prioritises image over integrity and suppression over solution.

They are direct assaults on Sections 22 and 39 of the Nigerian constitution which mandates the media to uphold the fundamental objectives of the government and ensure the accountability of the government to the people while Section 39 guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom of the press to hold opinions and impart information and ideas without interference, though there are exceptions for national security and specific professions.

Daily Trust calls on political leaders to end the disconcerting use of state instruments to violate the rights of journalists and other citizens. They should rather challenge such media publications or journalists or citizens with libel or defamation in a court of law instead of criminalizing the Cybercrime Act.

Democracy is not for the benefit of politicians or the connected alone but for all Nigerians. Therefore, we call on the National Assembly to ensure that its Acts are not being used to trample on the rights of the citizens they ought to protect. We also call on the Nigeria Police to note that it is not in their interest to be used against the citizens.

The governors should also note that regional and international human rights organisations are taking notes and using their actions to gauge how the tenets of democratic values are being practiced by our leaders.

There should be no threat to media freedom and democracy, which are anchored on accountability and good governance.

However, while calling on media houses, their reporters and activists to always approach their investigations and advocacies with utmost sense of responsibility, the federal government should order immediate investigations into all such arrests and hold those behind them to account. No attempt should be made to criminalise free speech or shut down any criticisms or circulation of any information not favourable to any political leader or the elite, provided they are true.

The Adamawa State Government has approved the sale of 1,000 housing units at the State Housing Estate, Malkohi, in Yola South Local Government Area.

The estate, which had been stalled for years due to inflation and economic challenges, is now being completed under the administration of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.

Speaking at a press briefing in Yola on Thursday, the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Abdullahi Adamu Pirambe, who also chaired the housing estate committee, described the development as a significant milestone in addressing the housing needs of civil servants in the state.

He explained that Governor Fintiri had approved the sale and allocation of some of the houses to civil servants, adding that the approved prices are ?9,706,195.47 for two-bedroom flats and ?11,708,194.59 for three-bedroom flats.

According to him, the committee worked diligently to ensure that the allocation process remains transparent and fair, noting that offer letters would soon be distributed to beneficiaries as directed by the governor.

Hon. Pirambe also disclosed that the original master plan of the estate is being implemented, with new facilities under construction. These include perimeter fencing for enhanced security, drainage systems, and security outposts with barracks to safeguard residents.

The commissioner expressed gratitude to Governor Fintiri on behalf of the people of Adamawa State for his commitment to infrastructural development.

‘The completion and allocation of these housing units will go a long way in addressing the accommodation challenges of civil servants and further strengthen confidence in this government,’ he said.

Also speaking, Dauda Mohammed Galadima, Managing Director of the Adamawa State Mortgage Bank, revealed that the bank is seeking funding support from the Family Homes Fund and the Federal Mortgage Bank to make access easier for workers.

He explained that workers would be able to domicile their salaries with the bank and make monthly payments, while those with additional income sources could make upfront payments if they wished.

In his remarks, Dr. Nyalas Batholomew, who represented the labour union, commended Governor Fintiri on behalf of organized labour. He noted that affordability analysis was a critical part of the allocation process and assured that any worker able to meet the payment requirements would be given the opportunity to purchase a house under the scheme.