Keyamo: Over N10bn Revenue Is Lost In Complimentary e-Tickets
THE Federal Government has scrapped the waiver for all Very Important Personalities (VIPs) exempting them from paying for tickets at the various airports toll gates, including President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, members of the National and States Assemblies and military personnel, as there now to pay for e-tags (tickets) whenever they drive through all airports in the country.
This decision was reached at the resumed Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, May 14, where the cabinet approved the scrapping of the exemption granted to users of the airports from paying tollgate fees.
This was sequel to a memorandum presented by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo (SAN), who argued that the government was losing over 82 per cent of the revenue it should have earned from the e-tags (tickets).
Fielding questions from State House Correspondents shortly after the Council meeting, Keyamo explained that Nigeria loses over N10billion yearly revenue by giving out complimentary e-ticket to VIPs.
He explained that the memo he presented had initially prescribed an exemption for only the president and the vice president before Tinubu overruled the submission and directed that he and his deputy should be included among those obliged to pay.
Keyamo regretted that VIPs who should pay are those that have defaulted in the payment, noting that only poor people had been charged for using the tollgates, a situation he said must stop, declaring: “We sought and obtained the respect of mandatory payments of assess fees by all visitors at our federal airport tollgates 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, exempting them paying the access fees, for parking and for essential services at airports.
“I told myself on my team that under my watch, it will not happen. If this tradition has existed 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, while the poor pay. The VIPs who are supposed to have money don’t pay for services, but they compel poor to pay for services.
“My memo says with the exception of the President and the Vice President, but the President overruled me, saying he and the Vice President will pay. He said everybody will pay.”
The minister stated further: “Let me give you the shocking statistics. The negative figure that we get at the end of the day from the complimentary e-tags is 82 per cent in the negative.
“In other words, when we are supposed to have a 100 per cent income from these e-tags that we print, it is only 18 per cent that we end up selling. That is how bad it is, as 82 per cent of these e-tags are giving out free of charge to VIPs. Imagine the loss in my sector.
“And I ask myself which other sector will I go to that will give me anything free? Is it because I’m VIP that I should not pay charges, that they will wave if for me? I pay for every sector, I pay for power. Why then would everybody come to my own sector and want to get free passage?
“So, this has led in the past to loss of billions of naira annually, yet, our airport infrastructure are decaying. I am helpless I’m looking for concessionaires, looking for help for decaying infrastructure and they will be the first to cry out.
“These same VIPs, why the toilets like this? Why are your toilets smelling? Why can’t you do this? But they are the same people who don’t pay for the services.
“If we want improved infrastructure at the airport, we must pay for services.”
