President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and other dignitaries in the country will henceforth pay airport access toll and parking fees across the nation’s airports.

Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo disclosed this to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

Keyamo said this followed the FEC’s approval of the withdrawal of exemption of payment of tickets by some highly placed Nigerians at the nation’s airports.

The minister said the former system, which had cost loss of revenue, had been bought into by the president and the vice president.

He said: “The ministry has been losing huge revenue that ordinarily should not be. With the new system, everybody coming into the nation’s airports must pay the toll gate fees.

“Already the president and the vice president have agreed to be part of those that would pay.”

On the recurrent runway incidents, Keyamo noted that the ministry would continue on the path of ensuring adherence to proper regulation while supervision under him would be sustained.

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“There is no way I will allow the safety of air passengers to be jeopardised under my watch. Any airline that is consistently found wanting in this issue will be sanctioned appropriately; as in the case of the Dana Airline,” he added.

Also speaking, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris said the Ministry of Interior’s memo on the review of the new visa regime was also approved.

Idris said the new visa regime was to address the lacuna and challenges faced by citizens and foreign investors coming or going out of the country.

He said the new visa process would now be completely online, with background security checks of applicants done within 48 hours, adding that this would commence in the next four weeks.

On his part, Minister of Communication Bosun Tijani said that a Special Purpose Vehicle would be set up for the construction of 90,000 fibre cable across the country in the next three years to improve internet service and its cost.

According to Tijani, this cable forms a part of the government’s strategy aimed at connecting local, sub-national, and federal government into a system for accountability and transparency in governance and to improve service delivery in the areas of health, education, and revenue generation, among others.

The Star