President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, along with other VIPs, will now be required to pay tollgate fees when using airports across Nigeria. This decision follows the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to cease exemptions previously granted to airport users.
The decision was reached after a memorandum was presented by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, highlighting substantial revenue losses incurred due to these exemptions. Keyamo revealed that the government was losing over 82% of potential revenue from tollgate fees due to the exemptions.
Initially, the memorandum proposed exemptions only for the president and vice president. However, it was revised after President Tinubu directed that both he and the vice president should be included in the list of individuals required to pay tollgate fees.
Speaking during the post-FEC media briefing, Keyamo expressed regret over the existing situation where only poor individuals have been charged for tollgate usage, while wealthy VIPs have enjoyed exemptions. He stressed the importance of rectifying this disparity to ensure fair contribution from all users towards airport tollgate fees.
