Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said the ministry will soon start implementation of the mandatory payments of access fees by all visitors at all Federal Airport toll gates across the country.
Addressing reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Tuesday, Keyamo said the ministry has sought for and got the approval of FEC to ensure that there is no exemption.
He disclosed that the original memo was structured to exempt the President Bola Tinubu and Vice president Kashim Shettima, but added quickly that the President insisted that that there should be no exemption and all Nigerians should pay including his convoy.
He said: “The first approval that we sought and obtained was in respect of mandatory payments of access fees by all visitors at our federal airport toll gates nationwide. No more exemption. When we came to office, we met a tradition on the ground where at the end of the year, all manners of VIPs would approach us for what they call complimentary e-tags or complimentary stickers.
“They don’t pay the access fees. They don’t pay for parking, they don’t pay for essential services at airports, and they are VIPs. And I told myself and my team, I said not under my watch. It will not happen. If this tradition has been existing for years, I will not allow it to happen. Because it is inconceivable that in our country it is the VIPs that don’t pay for services but it is the poor men that pay for services.
“The VIPs was supposed to have money to pay for services but they compel poor men to pay for services. And I said no. I said we need the backing of council to compel everybody. In fact, guess what? Our memo says with the exception of the President and the Vice President. And the President overruled me and said he and the Vice President will pay, he said everybody.”
The Minister who lamented the decaying infrastructure in the airports, noted that said the situation has led to loss of billions of Naira annually and, “yet our airport infrastructure you know they’re decaying. I am helpless. I’m looking for concessionaires. I’m looking for help for decaying infrastructure and they’ll be the first to cry out, but they don’t pay for the services. So if we want improve infrastructure at the airport, we must pay for services.”
