No fewer than 200 airport cab operators have threatened to suspend operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja within nine days if the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) fails to reverse policies they describe as anti-operator.
The operators, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Union of Private Cab Operators (NUPCO), are protesting a directive requiring them to stop using vehicles manufactured before 2012 from July 1, 2026.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Monday, NUPCO National President, Adeola Adepegba, also criticized FAAN’s decision to increase the operational tariff paid by drivers from N500 to N1,500 per trip.
According to him, the increase represents a 200 per cent hike and would inevitably force operators to raise transport fares for passengers.
“This fee is a pay-as-you-go payment made whenever a passenger is picked up. We find it unacceptable because no genuine business can sustain a 200 per cent increase under the current economic conditions,” Adepegba said.
He argued that the tariff hike would place an additional financial burden on passengers and negatively impact the broader economy.
Adepegba further alleged that FAAN was attempting to compel operators to adopt an app-based transportation system without adequate consultation with stakeholders.
The dispute has also drawn support from organised labour.
The National President of the Precision, Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Rufus Olusesan, backed the cab operators’ position.
Olusesan warned that labour unions could shut down airport operations if the disagreement is not resolved and urged the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to intervene.
He called on the minister to engage FAAN and ensure an amicable resolution to the dispute before it escalates into a disruption of airport services.
